


Takeoff into Confusion

by Raliena



Series: Go Forth, Gundam Team [3]
Category: Gundam Wing, Stargate SG-1
Genre: Culture Porn, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Misunderstandings, Negotiations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-04
Updated: 2015-07-04
Packaged: 2018-04-07 16:10:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 67,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4269681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raliena/pseuds/Raliena
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Twice they have met before. And this time an alliance is in the offering. However as SG1 and the Gundam Boys both know... Nothing ever runs smoothly... *Especially* in Politics. And Especially where these two groups are concerned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: You recognise it, I don't own it.

“Are you sure about this, O’Neill?” General Hammond asked, for what felt like the thousandth time since SG1 had come back from what was fast becoming referred to as Planet Gundam. Although Teal’c insisted on calling it Earth Prime (Jack had made a mental note to cut down on Teal’c exposure to Star Trek).  
“Look, General,” Jack sighed, “They’re good kids. A little too keen to rush into things… But given the loyalty to each other, and the fact that they have recently fought two wars, I’d say that wasn’t too surprising. We’ve had worse first meetings.”  
“I really think we could benefit from an alliance with them.” Sam agreed, “At the very least they have space capacity. The ability to produce viable, fully-functional, almost self-sustaining satellites. That is something we cannot pass the opportunity to obtain up, sir. I mean the required power supply indicates solar panel efficiency far beyond our current abilities. Then there are the other requirements, such as the gravity. Sir, we _cannot_ pass this up!”  
“If it helps,” Daniel came in, “They were apologetic. They sort of reminded me of a couple of kids on my street, when they apologized for breaking my window with their ball.”  
“This alliance will be beneficial.” Teal’c spoke up, “I also promised HeeroYuy a rematch.”  
“Face it, General,” Jack laughed, “Teal’c wants his spar. Daniel wants to go peer at their rocks. Carter’s salivating at their technology. This is a good idea.”  
“And you, Jack?” Hammond pressed.  
“I’m thinking that if a kid can produce enough explosives to blow his way through the Iris, and yet _doesn’t_ attack we don’t have much to fear from them.” Jack pointed out. “And we can’t send anyone else. The planet wants the initial negotiations to be with someone they know. And they say they trust us.”  
“Alright.” Hammond nodded, “But be careful.”  
“Will do, General.” Jack grinned.  
“Dial the ‘Gate, Walter.” Hammond conceded.  
“Chevron one encoded,” Walter declared, “Chevron two encoded. Chevron three encoded. Chevron four encoded. Chevron five encoded. Chevron six encoded. Chevron seven locked.”  
“SG1, you have a go.” Hammond instructed.  
“See ya, General.” Jack declared as he stepped through the ‘Gate.

On the other side of the ‘Gate the Maganacs were waiting for SG1, along with Trowa and Quatre.

“Colonel O’Neill,” Quatre smiled, “Major Carter. Daniel. Teal’c. It is nice to see you again.”  
“And we you, QuatreWinner.” Teal’c nodded.  
“Where are the other three?” Jack asked, looking around as if expecting them to leap out of the sand dunes.  
“Heero and Wufei are keeping an eye on Duo,” Quatre shrugged, “He’s in the R&D lab again.”  
“Stopping him from causing chaos?” Daniel queried.  
“Not the sort you mean.” Quatre grinned, “Duo is probably terrifying the scientists with his blatant disregard for the laws of physics. What’s he trying to do this time, Trowa?”  
“His toy.” Trowa replied.  
“Oh yes,” Quatre nodded, “The one thing that _no one_ apart from Duo thinks will work. And he’s been working on for _years_.”  
“Why doesn’t he give up?” Sam frowned.  
“Because he’s too stubborn.” Quatre stated, “He keeps on saying it’ll work. He also keeps on getting distracted by side projects. Though it occasionally turns out something else useful.”  
“So where are we going?” Daniel queried.  
“The Sanq Kingdom.” Trowa answered.  
“The political capital of the Sphere.” Quatre elaborated, “The ESUN has its headquarters there. They’re our main political body. Any negotiations will have to be done by them.”  
“Will we be dealing with them directly?” Sam asked.  
“Sort of.” Quatre shrugged, “The plan is that you’ll discuss general terms with a representative. They will negotiate as far as they can with their authority… Then talk to the rest of the ESUN members, for further authority. As Duo would say, ‘going backwards and forwards until you’re sick and tired and just give in to what they want’. But it should be fair. Though I can’t promise quick.”  
“We know how the game is played.” Jack laughed, “And we can play. Even if I don’t particularly like the game.”  
“Who does?” Trowa snorted.  
“I do.” Quatre protested, “I kind of like verbally sparring with someone, particularly when I can force them into a corner.”  
“And I bet you’re good at it.” Jack smiled.  
“He is.” Trowa smirked slightly.  
“But I’m not part of the ESUN governing body.” Quatre stated, “So while you’re staying with me, I have no real part in the negotiations. I’m just your host.”  
“Master Quatre.” Rashid called out, “If we don’t want to miss our departure time…”  
“Of course, Rashid.” Quatre nodded, “Well then, shall we be going?”

SG1 were ushered towards a car, which took off at a decent pace towards what they assumed would be an airport. Trowa and Quatre were sitting with SG1, while Rashid was driving.

“Oh, I almost forgot.” Quatre pulled a bag off the floor of the car, before rummaging through it, “Wufei gave me this for you, Daniel. He said it was the best historical reference book around for detailing ancient civilisations. I’m afraid I can’t comment in that area. I’m no scholar.”

Quatre handed over the book to a wide-eyed Daniel as he looked at the size of the tome.  
“Remind me to thank him.” Daniel murmured, even as he opened the book and started to read it.  
“You know he won’t emerge from there until he needs food or coffee, right?” Jack asked.  
“Then it’s a good thing that negotiations don’t start until tomorrow, then, isn’t it?” Quatre smiled, “The book is for Daniel to keep. An apology of sorts for holding him prisoner twice.”  
“It’s appreciated.” Jack stated, “And I’m sure Danny-boy would say so too… If he wasn’t engrossed in it.”  
“He’s a bit like Duo.” Quatre laughed, “Once he gets involved in something that interests him… He doesn’t emerge.”  
“Unless someone drags him out.” Trowa reminded.  
“True.” Quatre nodded, “I still have the scratches from last time. He… Wasn’t exactly coherent.”  
“Nor were you, last week.” Trowa pointed out.  
“I’m not that bad.” Quatre quickly countered.  
“Yes,” Trowa smirked, “You are.”

123456789

To be honest, Jack and Sam had been expecting a commercial plane. With seats in either first class, business class or the equivalent thereof.

However there was a private jet waiting for them instead. There were no Customs Checks or Passports Check… The group was ushered straight on.

“I thought we had a scheduled flight?” Sam asked.  
“Not exactly,” Quatre smiled, “But I believe that if you file a flight plan, you should do everything in your power to stick to your departure time. It’s only polite.”

Daniel had barely noticed the transition to the plane, only adjusting slightly as Jack steered him aboard. And only looked away from the book long enough to do his seat-belt up. He completely trusted the other members of SG1 to protect him… Or was it that he didn’t sense any threat from the boys? Jack wasn’t sure.

“Nice and steady, please Ahmad.” Quatre called out to the pilot.  
“Yes, Master Quatre.” Ahmad replied cheerfully.  
“This is Ground Control to Winner Three-Zero.” A voice came over the radio, “You are cleared for take-off on Runway Seven.”  
“This is Winner Three-Zero to Ground Control,” Ahmad remarked, “I thought we weren’t due for take-off for another ten minutes.”  
“Ground Control to Winner Three-Zero, there was a free space, so we bumped you up. Pass our regards to the Kid.”  
“Will do, thank you Ground Control.” Ahmad’s grin was audible in his voice.

It was a smooth take-off.

“Will there be an opportunity for HeeroYuy and myself to spar?” Teal’c inquired.  
“Absolutely.” Quatre nodded, “He’s been looking forward to it.”  
“He has also expressed an interest in perhaps learning your style.” Trowa added.  
“Though that is up to you.” Quatre acknowledged.  
“How long did Duo sleep for?” Jack asked.  
“Oh,” Quatre asked, “He completely crashed. Didn’t wake up for nearly sixteen hours.”  
“He still wants a Zat.” Trowa put in.  
“I brought him one,” Jack grinned, “And an extra one for Commander Une to decide what to do with.”  
“I am curious about your weapon, Teal’c.” Quatre turned to the Jaffa, “From what little we saw of it, it is a very effective weapon, if a little unwieldy. Particularly for those of us of shorter stature with less upper-body strength.”  
“ColonelO’Neill describes it as ‘Weapon of Terror’,” Teal’c replied, “Used more to intimidate rather than to kill. Although it can kill.”  
“Much like the Gundams were used initially.” Quatre nodded in understanding, “The idea was that the word itself would cause fear… Because no one alive had ever seen a Gundam.”  
“They were that good?” Sam blinked.  
“That was the reputation.” Trowa smiled.  
“And in War a reputation is a powerful thing.” Jack comprehended, “Some things don’t change no matter what planet you’re on.”  
“True enough.” Quatre nodded, “Could you tell us about _your_ world? I must confess to being slightly curious, particularly about your political system and climate.”

It would only be later that Jack would realize that Duo wasn’t the only skilled interrogator among the Gundam Boys, who could fool him. A fact that Daniel could have warned him about, if he had not been engrossed in his book.

Sam would realize not long after, along with Teal’c, the level of skill in negotiation that Quatre had shown; learning a great deal, while seeming to reveal just as much, but only actually showing a few of the cards in his hand.

Trowa sat through the conversation, occasionally inserting comments. He was, however, predominately silent, as was his wont. A small smile gracing his face. He knew that Quatre could no more stop gathering information that he could stop breathing.

After all the art of negotiation is to learn as much about your opponent as possible, while revealing as little as possible about yourself. Know yourself and know your opponent. Words Quatre tried to live by.

123456789

They got off the plane in Sanq.

“Very medieval.” Sam noted looking around, “All the castles.”  
“Sanq is a very old Kingdom,” Quatre nodded, “It was decided to keep as much of the History intact as possible. There _are_ more modern areas of Sanq. However Sanq still hold very much to its roots.”  
“Admirable.” Sam stated, “Where are we headed?”  
“We’re taking the car to Winner Industries’ local offices.” Quatre smiled, “Heero, Duo and Wufei are there. And I’m _sure_ that Heero and Wufei must be getting bored by now. As entertaining as Duo can be… When he’s tinkering it’s not very interesting for most people… And exasperating for all scientists.”


	2. Chapter 2

Jack forcibly pulled the book out of Daniel’s hands when they reached Winner Industries.  
“Hey!” Daniel protested.  
“You can read later,” Jack fired back, “Come on. Interact with the nice people.”  
“You missed the entire plane trip.” Sam chided gently, fully understanding Daniel’s ability to become engrossed in things that fascinated him.  
“No,” Daniel shook his head, “I couldn’t of.”  
“MajorCarter is correct,” Teal’c countered, “You were unaware of our ride here.”  
“It’s alright,” Quatre smiled gently, “I completely lost the entire L4 to Earth trip last week… Good book. I don’t really get enough time to read.”  
“Delegation.” Trowa suggested automatically.  
“He’s right,” Jack nodded, “Delegation is a wonderful thing. You should try it.”  
“I like knowing what’s going on.” Quatre countered, “Things get filtered if I’m not hands on.”  
“I understand that.” Daniel sighed, “I miss quite a bit sometimes… But I can’t do everything in my department.”

Quatre ignored the comment and entered the building. SG1 and Trowa swiftly followed.

“Mister Winner!” The receptionist smiled brightly, “How are you?”  
“Fine, Sophie.” Quatre replied.  
“And who are your friends?” Sophie asked, moving to make a notation in the login book.  
“Guests,” Quatre was quick to respond, “And Trowa of course. I’ll need security passes for everyone.”  
“Of course, Mister Winner.”  
“Is Duo in his lab?” Quatre asked Sophie.  
“The Demon is in his lair, yes.” Sophie replied.  
“I thought I sent out a memo about Duo.” Quatre frowned slightly, “He is not to be referred to as a demon.”  
“You did, Mister Winner,” Sophie shrugged, “But he’s _The_ Demon. He doesn’t seem to mind.”  
“We do.” Trowa stated.  
“He’s my friend.” Quatre pointed out, “I won’t have someone disrespecting him. You do not have any right to call him a demon.”  
“Yes, Mister Winner.” Sophie agreed quickly.

Quatre led the way through the corridors.

“Do _not_ tell Duo that the lab is his.” Quatre insisted, once they were out of sight of the reception. “He doesn’t know. And I’m not going to tell him.”  
“Why not?” Daniel frowned.  
“He doesn’t think he needs or deserves a lab.” Quatre shrugged.  
“We’ve convinced him that he’s just borrowing it.” Trowa stated.  
“And he believes that?” Sam stared.  
“Duo doesn’t lie.” Quatre smirked, “And sometimes he forgets that other people don’t have such high standards. I have _no_ qualms in lying to him, if it means that he gets what he needs.”  
“And he needs a lab?” Jack asked.  
“Sometimes, yeah.” Trowa nodded.  
“He won’t accept charity.” Quatre shrugged, “And I wouldn’t offer it. But what good is being the head of a Multibillion Credit Company, if you can’t help your friends out from time to time? Without the lab’s resources, he wouldn’t be able to do one half of the experiments he does. It’s not charity.”

SG1 weren’t quite sure how to respond to that, so they didn’t say anything, and simply continued to follow Quatre and Trowa down the corridors, past the Security Guards and lockable doors.

123456789

It was easy to tell which of the labs was Duo’s… Well, no actually it wasn’t. All the doors looked exactly the same. But there was one very obvious indicator…

Wufei was sitting on a chair just to the left off the door, his sword across his lap as he slowly polished the blade.

“Welcome.” Wufei stood up and nodded briskly to them.  
“How many?” Trowa asked.  
“Six,” Wufei almost snarled, “And nine fire alarms.”  
“He’s in good form.” Quatre remarked, “Any damage from the explosions or fires?”  
“Nothing significant.” Wufei shrugged, “More light and noise than anything else. The fire alarms were mainly due to him burning either bread or cheese.”  
“He was cooking in the lab again?” Quatre sighed, “I told him about that.”  
“At least he’s eating.” Jack snorted, “Carter and Daniel forget meals. For crying out loud, they forget _sleep_! And Daniel ends up living off coffee. At least he remembers that food is important.”  
“Hey!” Sam and Daniel protested in unison.  
“I have to drag them to the mess hall.” Jack declared, “And the Doc throws them off base with strict orders not to reappear for over thirty six hours!”  
“Indeed,” Teal’c agreed, “I too have seen these events.”  
“Well, Duo just tends to cook in the lab instead.” Quatre shrugged.  
“I hope we don’t have to clean burnt cheese off the ceiling again.” Trowa muttered.  
“Again?” Sam asked, “How often does he cook in there?”  
“He’s not the world’s greatest cook.” Quatre confessed, neatly sidestepping the question.  
“Understatement.” Wufei groaned.  
“He just gets distracted, that’s all.” Quatre continued, “He’s not that bad… When he’s paying attention.”  
“Which is rare.” Trowa retorted quietly.  
“He prefers his _experiments_ to cooking.” Wufei sounded slightly disdainful.  
“Some of those experiments are food related.” Quatre pointed out.  
“Do _you_ want a repeat of the Pizza?” Wufei raised an eyebrow.  
“No,” Quatre conceded, “But I wouldn’t mind a second round of the cookies.”  
“Which ones?” Trowa asked, “The chocolate chip ones or the exploding ones?”  
“He made exploding cookies?” Sam stared.  
“He was bored.” Quatre shrugged.  
“It was during the War.” Wufei added.  
“He had explosives left over from a mission.” Trowa finished.  
“And you didn’t mind?” Sam pressed.  
“The Safe-House was under attack ten minutes later.” Quatre declared, “Duo’s cookies bought us time to get away… Even if OZ initially laughed at us being so low on weapons that we were resorting to a food fight.”  
“Maxwell’s retort was ‘This food fights back!’.” Wufei remembered.  
“We took out two squadrons with those cookies.” Quatre laughed.  
“I want the recipe.” Jack stared, “Two squadrons?”  
“At least.” Wufei shrugged.  
“I definitely want that recipe.” Jack repeated.  
“Ask Maxwell.” Wufei replied, “He never wrote it down.”  
“He keeps his best stuff in his head.” Quatre added.  
“For all that he acts like he doesn’t have a brain.” Trowa muttered.  
“It’s a very good act.” Sam stated.  
“Let’s go in,” Quatre redirected the conversation, “Duo needs sunlight, after all. And we probably ought to back-up Heero.”

They entered the room. Heero was sitting to the right of the door as they entered; half-way through cleaning his gun.

“Hey!” Duo looked up from where he stood in the middle of a completely disorganised lab. Jack saw that Sam was about to freak out the mess. So he attempted to head her off.  
“Here you go, kid.” Jack held out a Zat, “Just as I promised.”  
“Thanks!” Duo pushed his safety goggles up on to his forehead. “I’d better not play with it here. The scientists are going to spaz as it is.”  
“You don’t count yourself as a scientist?” Daniel asked, frowning slightly.  
“Nah!” Duo laughed, “I’m just a Sweeper… A fiddler. I don’t have the education to be a scientist. I ain’t smart enough.”  
“Duo Maxwell!” Quatre bristled slightly, “Stop putting yourself down. You know you have a full scholarship offer from a dozen top ranking universities! You are _more_ than smart enough to do whatever you like.”  
“Why would I want to go to them?” Duo shrugged, “I’m happy as I am.”  
“Give up.” Trowa suggested.  
“He’ll never change his mind.” Heero pointed out.  
“He doesn’t _want_ someone to tell him what is impossible or not. He would rather find out on his own.” Wufei sighed, “I am uncertain whether that is intelligent or not.”  
“If you don’t know what has been done before,” Sam chimed in, “You may end up repeating what has been done before.”  
“But you are not limited by the preconceptions of those before you,” Wufei countered, “You do not know what they believed was impossible. And maybe, because you come at the problem from a different angle, you might manage it. Where you wouldn’t have tried if you had known that others deemed it impossible.”  
“The only way to find the limits of the possible,” Jack stated, “Is to go beyond them, into the impossible.”

Daniel and Sam both turned to stare at Jack.

“Oh for crying out loud!” Jack sighed, “I _do_ read! And it’s Arthur C. Clarke.”  
“Can I have that on a t-shirt?” Duo asked.

The Gundam Boys turned to look at him. Then as one they sighed.  
“You would.” They spoke in chorus.  
“What?” Duo looked around at them.  
“Come on,” Quatre sighed, “We’re leaving.”  
“Not right now!” Duo protested, “I’m at a very delicate stage in my experiments.”  
“Is it anything you couldn’t come back to later?” Wufei asked.  
“I said it’s at a very delicate…” Duo started.  
“Yes or no.” Heero interrupted.  
“Come on, guys,” Duo tried again, “I don’t think you underst…”  
“Yes or no.” Heero repeated.  
“No.” Duo surrendered.  
“Then we’re leaving.” Quatre announced, “Grab your stuff.”  
“Alright.” Duo sighed.

Slightly sulkily Duo moved and picked up his rucksack. He quickly dismantled several pieces of equipment and stowed them in what seemed to be a careful order in his bag, some of them even fitting into padded cases before entering the rucksack. Those items that weren’t his, he returned to what everyone assumed were their original starting positions.

“I need…” Duo started looking around for something.  
“Here.” Heero held out an object.  
“Thanks,” Duo looked around again, “Has anyone seen…?”

Trowa placed an item into Duo’s hand.  
“Oh, thanks…” Duo popped it into his bag, “I could have sworn…”

Wufei this time offered an object to the searching boy.

Jack watched and slowly started to snicker as Duo continued to look for items, which he never named, but the others presented to him. It was almost as if they could read his mind. The rest of SG1 quickly saw the amusement as well, and to varying degrees also started to snort in amusement.

“So…” Jack snorted when they were all done, “You do that a lot?”  
“Do what?” Duo frowned in confusion.  
“Yes.” Trowa replied at exactly the same moment.  
“Do what?” Duo repeated, looking around at the unashamed smirks of the others, “What, guys? Tell me!”

No one got round to answering Duo’s question. Jack got the feeling that the other Gundam Boys rather enjoyed the confusion on Duo’s face. And who was he to spoil the game?

It was another trip in the limousine to the Winner Mansion. Though Jack wanted to upgrade its designation. Surely it counted as a _Palace_!

SG1 was shown to a suite on the third floor. There were four bedrooms and all were amply sized.

“We thought you might be tired after all the travelling,” Quatre stated, “So supper will be served up here. Though you will be shown to the Dining Room for breakfast. Negotiations will begin at ten in the ESUN building in Sanq. Will that be alright?”  
“That will be fine.” Jack replied after glancing around at the others. “Can we explore this place?”  
“Feel free,” Quatre shrugged, “If you get lost there’s comm-points in most rooms. Just ask for directions. Don’t worry about it. Most people get lost the first few times. Even I do. Sleep well.”

With that for a closing remark, Quatre left SG1 to their own devices. Seconds later Daniel was back reading his new book.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day found SG1 and the Gundam boys taking a helicopter ride to the ESUN building. About half-way there, Duo stood up and walked to the door. He was carrying some sort of metal device. It looked a bit like a box with a pipe attached. The other Gundam Boys hadn’t queried its presence, and SG1 hadn’t quite gotten around to asking about it…

Well, Jack had. But all Duo had said in reply was:  
“What this old thing? It was a gift from an old friend. We built it together.”

Duo also had a rucksack on his back.

“I’ll get off here.” Duo stated, “Got some things to do.”  
“Kid,” Jack blinked, “We’re in a helicopter.”  
“I know.” Duo shrugged, “But I don’t have time to wait for us to land. I got places to go, and people to see.”

Duo opened the helicopter door. His braid whipping in the breeze.  
“I’ll see you later guys.” Duo turned and leapt from helicopter. Twisting as he fell so that the metal device had the pipe above his head.

“Is he crazy?” Sam demanded, as Trowa stopped her from charging after Duo and trying to catch him.  
“It depends on your definition.” Quatre remarked.  
“He won’t survive.” Daniel panicked.  
“You underestimate him.” Wufei dismissed the concern.  
“What is that thing?” Jack asked, peering out of the door, “I mean, he’s still _alive_.”

The slightly bent pipe was spinning at the top, allowing a jet of something to come out. It looked like some bizarre kind of umbrella, but seemed to be slowing Duo’s descent.

“Electronic parachute.” Heero replied.  
“That’s incredible.” Jack stared, “He looks like a weird version of Mary Poppins.”  
“Who’s that?” Quatre asked politely.  
“A children’s story character.” Jack answered, “Used an umbrella to fly.”  
“He’s not yet managed to fly with it.” Wufei countered.  
“No,” Jack agreed, “But he does fall with style.”  
“Jack,” Daniel sighed, “Do we need to limit your Disney references or your watching of them?”  
“Disney?” Trowa raised an eyebrow, scarily reminiscent of Teal’c for SG1.  
“A producer of children’s entertainment.” Sam supplied quickly.  
“Can we take a look at them?” Quatre queried.  
“Why?” Sam frowned.  
“Well,” Quatre grinned, “We are just kids. And most of us didn’t have much of a childhood.”  
“What will you give in exchange?” Jack cut to the chase.  
“Jack!” Daniel sighed.  
“Sir!” Sam protested.  
“We’ll bribe Duo for both cookie recipes.” Quatre retorted.  
“I’ll get you as many children’s films as I can,” Jack held out his hand to shake on the deal, “And some method of watching them.”  
“I do believe we were meant to be negotiating with the ESUN representative.” Teal’c pointed out.  
“Ah,” Jack dismissed the remark, “I’m just dealing in small trifles.”  
“We’re about five minutes out.” Quatre looked at his watch.  
“So who are we going to be negotiating with?” Jack asked.  
“Miss Relena Darlin,” Quatre replied, “She’s the Vice Foreign Minister. She’s also very popular with the Public.”  
“Duo refers to her as the Pink Princess?” Sam recalled.  
“That’s her.” Quatre nodded, “It is appropriate, I must admit. But I personally do not like the use of the name. She is Miss Relena.”  
“Duo’s is more appropriate.” Trowa muttered.  
“Be that as it may…” Quatre started to protest.  
“Quatre,” Heero interrupted, “Pink Princess.”  
“And I am never going to win this argument.” Quatre sighed.  
“No.” Heero retorted bluntly.  
“I take it she likes pink?” Daniel asked.  
“Yes.” Heero was typically frank.  
“She has a pink limousine.” Quatre confessed, “And a pink shuttle.”  
“Those poor vehicles.” Jack stated automatically.  
“I do not follow O’Neill.” Teal’c stated.  
“It’s just not right, Teal’c.” Jack sighed, “Kinda like when the geeks Photo-Shopped Mickey Mouse ears onto Jaffa pictures.”  
“You said that was in poor taste.” Teal’c remembered.  
“Precisely.” Jack agreed.  
“It’s a guy thing, Teal’c.” Sam cut in, “Macho thing. Men think that vehicles shouldn’t be painted such colours as they are strong, powerful symbols. While pink is seen as a weak, female colour.”  
“Interestingly,” Daniel spoke up, “In the Victorian period pink was used for men, while blue was used for girls.”  
“We need to sit down and compare our worlds.” Wufei interjected, “I am finding surprising similarities both in our language, our culture and commonly held beliefs. Our anthropology seems remarkably similar.”  
“Quit it with the big words already!” Jack demanded.

It only took another twenty minutes to reach the ESUN building. From there they took ten minutes to navigate the corridors from the pad to what would be their conference room.

SG1 had seen this sort of room before, ostentatiously decorated to display the wealth of the planet they were meeting with.

The main feature of the room was a table with four seats on one side and three on the other.

“Take your seats.” Quatre motioned at the four chairs, “Miss Relena and the rest of the ambassadorial section for this should be here shortly.”  
“Where are you sitting?” Jack asked.  
“Behind you.” Trowa pointed at the chairs arranged along the walls of the room.

The Gundam Boys settled into their seats. Daniel was amazed at the contrast between them. Wufei settled quickly and quietly, neat and tidy in his posture, but he was also comfortable and could probably meditate in the position he was in, if not sleep. Heero sat next to Wufei, his muscles tense as if trying to decide whether to fight or flee, while his face had shut down into a blank mask. Daniel got the opinion that you could probably take Heero’s chair away and nothing would change in his posture. Quatre sat on Heero’s other side, delicately and precisely. One of Quatre’s hands was on Heero’s knee as if trying to calm the tense teen. Trowa was almost like a big cat, finishing the line, his long legs stretched out in front of him, while his arms were crossed on his chest. But somehow Daniel felt that Trowa would rather be standing.

Of the four only Quatre seemed completely at ease. Wufei obviously intending on not being in the meeting at least mentally.

The door opened again after about ten minutes to allow the Vice-Foreign Minister and company in. As one the room rose to their feet.

Out of the corner of her eye, Sam saw Heero tense even more for a moment and then relax.

SG1 stared as the Vice Foreign Minister walked towards them, easily identified by the deference the others showed her. She was young. But she dressed professionally in a suit. Unfortunately it was pink.

Jack forced himself to bite his tongue. It would not be a good start to the negotiations to comment on the Vice Foreign Minister’s lack of taste in dressing entirely in pink. Though he supposed he should have anticipated the action, given the nickname ‘Pink Princess’.

“It is a pleasure to meet you all,” The Vice Foreign Minister announced, “I am Relena Darlin, the Vice Foreign Minister for the United Earth Sphere Nation.”  
“I am Colonel Jonathan O’Neill of the United States of America’s Air Force, of Earth. These are Major Samantha Carter, Doctor Daniel Jackson and Teal’c of the Free Jaffa, from Chulak.” Jack replied motioning to all present.  
“My assistant is just on her way,” Miss Darlin stated, “She was unavoidably detained. Shall we sit, while we wait for her?”  
“That seems like a sensible suggestion.” Jack agreed, already heartily sick of the flowery language.

However they did convey pleasantries at each other while they waited.

“I do apologize.” A new female voice announced, about a minute later, “I was held up by the Minister for L1. He wished to organise a lunch meeting with Miss Relena and the President.”

SG1 could see what the new-comer was doing. She was establishing very clearly the importance of Relena Darlin, by obvious name dropping. And by proxy was establishing her own importance.

However they were shocked by her _appearance_. Like Relena she was a young woman dressed in a business suit. Thankfully done in a nice shade of blue. Her long blonde hair was pulled back from her face. Thus revealing her most striking feature, a pair of highly forked eyebrows.

It took most of Jack’s will-power to stop staring at them.

“Thank you, Dorothy.” Relena smiled, “Gentlemen and Lady, this is my assistant and very dear friend, Dorothy Catolina. Dorothy, I assume you read the briefing?”  
But of course, Miss Relena.” Dorothy replied, “Though I do believe it was lacking in some areas… Possibly a hurried job.”  
“Well then,” Quatre came in, “Next time we must not rush the process no matter the pressure we are put under to complete it in an impossible time scale.”  
“Now Dorothy,” Relena smiled, “Not everyone can be _perfect_ all the time. We must allow for mistakes.”

It seemed to Jack that Relena was looking directly past him and towards the four boys. He started to wish that he could see the faces of the Gundam Boys. Surely he could _not_ be hearing what he thought he was.

Surely a highly placed politician wouldn’t flirt with someone during negotiations, if the person was not part of the opposing force.

Jack had no illusions about flirting being used as a _tactical_ manoeuvre, if both parties were on opposite sides.

However to all intents and purposes the flirting didn’t stop. And Dorothy kept on throwing verbal jabs; Sam managed to narrow down their focus to reveal Quatre as the primary target.

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“Are those eyebrows real?” Jack muttered to the rest of SG1 during a short break, with provided food and drink.  
“They would appear so, O’Neill.” Teal’c stated.  
“How?” Sam was still trying hard not to stare at them.  
“Beats me.” Daniel blinked.  
“We don’t know either.” Quatre confessed as the Gundam Boys joined SG1.  
“Maxwell has tried many times to learn though.” Wufei stated.

Jack gently pulled Quatre to one side, to have a private talk.  
“Was she flirting with Heero?” Jack murmured nodding his head at Relena.  
“Ah,” Quatre looked slightly embarrassed, “You picked up on that, then?”  
“How much older than you boys is she?” Jack pressed, slightly disgusted.  
“We don’t know.” Quatre shrugged, “But she’s actually nearly the same age as me. Only a month or two older, really.”  
“You’ve got to be joking!” Jack nearly spilt his glass.  
“No,” Quatre shook his head, “I’m not. She developed a teenage crush on Heero when he attended her school, during the War… She’s better than she used to be. But she’s still not quite grown out of it.”  
“I’m sorry,” Jack was still in shock, “But she doesn’t look the same age as you guys.”  
“You’d be amazed at what you can do with a little make-up… A hairstyle and some clothes.” Quatre stated, “I should know, I have sisters. She’s the same age as us… Approximately.”  
“And the verbal jabs from Dorothy Catolina?” Jack asked.  
“Some bad blood between us, that’s all,” Quatre shrugged, “Traditionally my family are pacifists… Though I sought Peace by fighting for those who could not… Her family have always been Warriors and Generals. During the War she couldn’t understand why I sought an end to the fighting… She understands now, I think. But it’s become habit to verbally spar with me. Even when I’m in a situation where I’m only a spectator. I’m afraid it’s unlikely to stop.”

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When ‘High Tea’ rolled around, SG1 were suffering from the usual exhaustion that negotiations brought on… Give them a fire fight any day.

Even lunch hadn’t brought real relief from the negotiations, as Relena and Dorothy had cornered all of them at various points.

However at High Tea with its buffet, SG1 were able to really talk to the Gundam Boys again, without appearing rude, as other people had been shown in as well. It seemed to be more of a social gathering than a break in the proceedings, which wouldn’t restart until the next day.

“So when is it polite to leave?” Jack asked bluntly.  
“In about half an hour.” Quatre shrugged, “But we’re not leaving until Duo turns up… We’ll never find him in the city.”  
“How’s Duo going to get in here?” Sam looked around, “I mean security is pretty tight.”  
“Duo has a pass.” Quatre replied, “Don’t worry.”  
“Security is not tight enough.” Wufei snorted quietly.  
“He could just sneak in.” Trowa agreed.  
“No.” Heero shook his head.  
“No?” Jack frowned, “Thought you said he was the best.”

Heero smirked slightly. Then with a quick duck he grabbed hold of the bottom of the tablecloth on the buffet table they all stood by.

Framed in the fabric that fell from Heero’s hand, Duo sat underneath the table blinking in the sudden light.


	4. Chapter 4

Jack tried to smother a snort. Duo looked like a child hiding from adults at a big function. Tucked underneath a table, hidden by a cloth, and with a plate of food in front of him. There was even cream around the braided boy’s mouth.

Duo’s plate seemed to be filled with all the simplest, but tastiest things from the buffet, primarily the deserty-things.

“Hi-ya!” Duo managed to look embarrassed.  
“How long have you been here?” Jack asked.  
“One hour, fourteen minutes.” Heero replied.  
“‘Bout that, yeah.” Duo shrugged, “By the way, someone ought to have a word with security. It’s pitiful.”  
“No,” Quatre shook his head, “You’re just that good.”  
“No, I’m serious,” Duo retorted, “ _Zechs_ could get in here without really trying. Even if everyone _didn’t_ recognise him.”  
“Make a list,” Wufei instructed, “Give it to Noin. She’ll deal with it.”  
“Okay.” Duo chirped.  
“Why didn’t you just come in the normal way?” Daniel queried.  
“No fun.” Trowa replied for Duo.  
“Why don’t you come out from there?” Sam frowned.  
“I don’t like being around fancy people,” Duo shrugged, “Some of them like putting me down, because I don’t have the upbringing they do… Because I’ve not had their education… They like making me feel stupid. And I don’t like that.”  
“Who is it?” Quatre demanded. Jack spared a glance at Quatre’s face; the blond wasn’t mad. He was furious.  
“Don’t you worry about it, Cat.” Duo dismissed the remark, “They just use fancy words, that’s all.”  
“You’re my friend.” Quatre replied softly, “Harming you, harms me.”  
“Just drop it, Cat.” Duo insisted, “It don’t do no harm.”  
“Double negative,” Trowa stated, “It does harm.”  
“They’re just trying to make themselves feel big,” Duo countered, “Leave it. It’s not worth it.”  
“Yes, you are.” Quatre retorted.  
“Who said I didn’t have pay-back in hand already?” Duo asked.  
“Do you?” Trowa cut to the chase.  
“Yes.” Duo nodded.  
“Good.” Heero stated.  
“Now are you coming out from under the table?” Jack asked.  
“No.” Duo pulled the cloth out of Heero’s hand and let it fall back into place.  
“So… How long are we leaving him there then?” Jack pressed.

Heero was already pulling the cloth back up, obviously intent on grabbing Duo and pulling him out from under the table.

But Duo was gone. All that was left behind to tell of his presence there was a napkin stained with cream and jam.

“He’s quick.” Sam blinked.  
“Indeed.” Teal’c agreed, “And highly skilled.”  
“That goes without saying.” Wufei sniffed, “He is the best.”  
“I wish he wouldn’t do that.” Trowa muttered.  
“Do we go after him now or later?” Quatre asked.  
“Later.” The other three stated.  
“It’s not worth the fight.” Noin remarked over their shoulders.  
“When did you get here?” Daniel asked.  
“Just after Wufei mentioning my name,” Noin shrugged, “I was curious as to what you were up to. Now I see. Duo’s on the loose.”  
“He has clearance.” Heero pointed out.  
“It’s still embarrassing.” Noin retorted, “Duo doesn’t just get around security. He positively _waltzes_ around it. I thought we had finally trained up the staff to a sufficient degree. I’ll have to tighten security… _Again_!”  
“He said he’d make you a list.” Quatre offered.  
“Be fair,” Trowa smiled slightly, “No one’s yet claimed the ‘I Caught Duo’ Bonus that the Preventers offer.”  
“There’s a bonus?” Sam blinked.  
“A test of security at every base.” Noin shrugged, “Duo turns up when he likes and if he gets caught before reaching the top office, the bonus is paid. All the boys used to do it. Duo is the only one who has never been caught.”  
“And Heero’s the one that’s never been hacked or found something that he couldn’t hack,” Quatre added, “Trowa’s never been beaten on the sniper range. Wufei has never been beaten in hand to hand… At least among the Preventers.”  
“And yourself?” Daniel pressed.  
“I get taken to the budgetary meetings.” Quatre sighed, “I’m considered the best at negotiating funds.”  
“Negotiations in general.” Noin added, “Hence why he’s not part of this. Conflicting loyalties. And Miss Relena insisted on dealing with the negotiations herself. The ESUN agreed.”  
“They’re not fond of me getting involved in politics,” Quatre shrugged, “I’m independently wealthy. They don’t think I have people’s best interests in mind.”  
“For crying out… Are they blind?” Jack blurted out, “I’m sorry. But even I can see that you really do care for people. No matter who they are or how important they are. You barely even fight back with Miss Catolina.”  
“I am wealthy,” Quatre retorted, “Therefore I must have only my interests first in my mind. I am afraid we still have some bias around.”  
“If I am not mistaken,” Teal’c spoke up, “Most of those present are also wealthy. What is the distinction?”  
“I don’t know,” Quatre shrugged, “I think its something to do with the fact that they were elected.”  
“But elections are done on who is the best liar.” Jack stated.  
“Interesting conundrum isn’t it?” Quatre grinned.

Daniel glanced at the serving trolley as it was pushed away with some of the tea-things on it. He noticed a small movement in the covering cloth and stared as it rose slightly. Duo popped his head out. He waved at Daniel, grinned and placed a finger on his lips. Then Duo lowered the cloth again and rode gently out of the room.

Daniel stifled a snort. From the way the maid had also turned and winked at him, he knew that she was helping the braided teen.

“Friends in low places.” Daniel muttered to himself.  
“No,” Trowa smiled slightly, “Friends in high places, who go unnoticed.”

123456789

Finally SG1 and the Gundam Boys left the hall. They found Duo in the main entrance hall sitting in front of a large unlit fireplace.  
“Can I…?” Duo started as he saw them approach.  
“No.” The Gundam Boys and Sam chorused.  
“Carter?” Jack turned to look at his team-mate.  
“He had the same unholy glee that you get in your eyes sometimes, sir.” Sam replied to the unasked question, “It _never_ spells anything good.”  
“Indeed,” Teal’c nodded slightly, “I, too, have seen this phenomenon.”  
“For crying out loud!” Jack muttered, “I’m not _that_ bad.”  
“I beg to differ, Jack.” Daniel came in, “They’re right. It never means anything good when you grin like that.”  
“Hey!” Jack protested, Duo’s matching protest echoed his.  
“Let’s go.” Quatre smiled, “I thought we could go somewhere after this, to relax. It’s not far, so we can walk.”

They walked out of the building and Heero started to lead them down the street, obviously having been informed of where they were going by Quatre.

Daniel noticed that the Gundam Boys almost fell into a variation of the same pattern that they had used in the SGC when rescuing Heero. Only Heero was leading, with Duo alternating between bouncing just in front of him, and then falling back to talk with Trowa and Quatre in the centre. Wufei tailed behind, closing the ranks. But because of the lack of any obvious threat, the grouping was less spread out, and easily within talking range of each other.

“What’s the word on the street?” Jack overheard Trowa ask Duo.  
“Generally a mixed batch.” Duo shrugged, “Some people are Pro-aliens… Others anti. But mainly people don’t think they exist… And if they did they would have to prove their loyalty and trustworthiness.”  
“And?” Wufei pressed.  
“I _may_ have started three bar-fights,” Duo admitted, “Nothing too big though. And I didn’t throw the first blow.”  
“Maxwell!” Wufei sighed exasperated.  
“Bar discussions are a perfectly valid information gathering technique!” Duo protested, “Not _my_ fault someone took offence! Good news is that no one seems to have heard about our visitors. So the Princess can do her big reveal whenever she likes… Though I would advise soon.”  
“Why?” Quatre asked.  
“No one’s _heard_ about the guests,” Duo elaborated, “But that doesn’t mean that they haven’t heard about the changes in schedule… Where are we taking them?”  
“The Museum.” Heero replied.  
“To see the War Exhibition,” Quatre added, “I’ve heard it’s quite spectacular. Lady Une suggested it.”  
“It’s morbid, that’s what it is.” Duo shuddered, “Count. Me. Out!”  
“Oh-Two,” Heero’s voice was firm, “You will accompany us.”  
“Into battle. Hell yes.” Duo retorted, “Into the mouth of Hell with no weapons and no back-up. Sure… But not there. You guys haven’t been in there. I have. For a full week after it opened, to gauge public reactions and interpretations. I assume you read my report?”  
“Yes,” Heero replied, “But at no point did you voice any personal opinions of the displays.”  
“Une Lady said my thoughts on that front were unnecessary,” Duo shrugged, “I’m not going.”  
“You are.” Wufei contradicted, “Even if we have to knock you out and carry you. To be afraid of a display is a shameful thing.”  
“I dare you to say that at the end of it.” Duo growled.

123456789

Daniel was a little disappointed when they entered the museum they moved towards the more modern and recent displays. Much of him wanted to go and investigate the more ancient pieces. So that he could compare and contrast with Earth pieces from the comparative time period.

However the first display in the Gundam War Exhibition took their breath away.

Two lines of silent sentinels… Armoured Suits towering over them lined the corridor. Behind them was a mural depicting a battle.

Each suit was different, and the mural changed scene as it continued down the corridor.

“What were they called?” Jack asked.  
“Leo,” Quatre replied as he motioned to each one, “Aries. Cancer. Virgo. Pisces. Maganac. Taurus. Vayeate. Mercurius. Serpent. Olifant. Tragos.”

They passed through a door and were confronted by two more suits.  
“Epyon and Tallgeese.” Heero answered the unasked question.

Behind the two suits was another mural. This one only showed the ‘faces’ of five more suits in profile, upon the background of the stars. The faces were slightly overlaid, so that only the first one could be seen in completion, while the others were slightly obscured, but not to any great degree.

“Tallgeese was the proto-type.” Wufei added, “Far more advanced than the other suits, bar the Gundams.”  
“Epyon _is_ a Gundam.” Quatre inserted.  
“They are incredible.” Sam breathed, “Specialised I take it? For different terrains?”  
“Yes.” Heero nodded.  
“And in the case of the Maganacs,” Quatre smiled, “To the specific pilot. The suit out there is Abdul’s.”

Daniel looked around, apart from the imposing figures of the suits, there were posters and murals; paintings and actual artefacts, all leading to a small passageway.

“Propaganda posters?” Daniel asked, noting the clearly distinct anti-Gundam bias on some of the posters.  
“Yes,” Duo nodded, “Pro-OZ.”  
“Is that Miss Darlin?” Jack looked at what appeared to be an official portrait.  
“From when she was Queen of the World, yes.” Quatre agreed.

Jack stared for a moment, and then asked the obvious question.  
“Queen of the World?”  
“She did a good job.” Duo grinned.  
“Long story.” Quatre smiled, “I’ll tell you later. The War was very confusing.”  
“Okay,” Jack shrugged, “And Commander Une with her twin?” Jack pointed to the next portrait. Two figures were in three-quarter pose, each facing away from the other. One had loose hair and a kindly smile, while the other wore a uniform, had glasses, a scowl and her hair bound up in two buns.  
“No.” Trowa replied, “The two sides of her split personality. Lady Une and Colonel Une.”  
“She has a split personality?” Sam blinked, “But…”  
“She’s combined,” Duo shrugged, “But it was freaky.”

One of the displays was a selection of video screens showing news clips from during the War.

Each of the boys moved closer to each other, almost subconsciously, when they realized this.

Teal’c watched one screen showed what he believed to be a training exercise. He stared as he saw a black and white suit be destroyed.  
“A Gundam.” Jack murmured, seeing what had enthralled his friend.  
“This would have been beneficial to the cause of OZ.” Teal’c noted.  
“One of the hardest things I have ever had to do.” Trowa offered.  
“You did that?” Jack stared at the usually nearly silent teen.  
“He was undercover.” Duo supplied, “He had no choice… But damn it! It was _my_ Buddy!”

Sam was staring at footage of a battle between two suits. She recognised one as the Tallgeese. Then the other suit’s hatch opened and a figure stepped out.

She couldn’t see the figure very clearly. But she did see him go flying as the Suit exploded.

“Self-detonation.” Quatre whispered, answering the unasked question, “Him or a colony.”  
“He was very brave.” Sam returned.  
“Is it bravery if you’re not sure if you have any fear?” Quatre returned.

Daniel looked around at everything, before he spoke up.  
“There’s no pictures of the Pilots.”  
“No,” Wufei replied, “They were granted anonyminity… At their request.”  
“They are only known by their Suits.” Heero added.

Just before the entrance to the passageway, there was a simulator.

“We can have a go at piloting a suit?” Jack asked; a wide grin on his face.  
“Go ahead,” Duo shrugged, “It’s harder than you might think.”

Jack almost jumped into the cockpit.  
“How do I work this thing?” He inquired.  
“There’s a short tutorial.” Duo replied, “It’ll run you through the basics.”  
“Start her up!” Jack declared as he settled into the cockpit.

About ten minutes later, Jack emerged. He looked worn out, but also triumphant.  
“Carter!” He called out, “You’ve got to try it! It’s like nothing else. You too, Teal’c. Hey, even you Spacemonkey!”

Sam slipped in to have her go. Her curiosity peaked by the layout.

“You didn’t do too badly.” Duo remarked to Jack, handing him a print-out of the simulator’s assessment.  
“More instinct than calculation.” Heero put in, “He wasted fuel.”  
“Give the guy a break.” Duo shrugged, “It’s his first time in a Taurus.”  
“Is the simulator that accurate?” Wufei asked.  
“Yeah.” Duo nodded enthusiastically, “Noin was asked to test it. She said it was the next best thing to actually flying one.”  
“Why doesn’t it simulate a Gundam?” Jack frowned.  
“Too dangerous,” Quatre replied quickly, “Very few can handle a Gundam full out. One guy who tried had a heart attack and died.”  
“Only a few guys alive can cope with the strain.” Duo added.  
“Such as?” Daniel pressed.  
“The Five Pilots and Zechs Merquise.” Wufei answered.  
“Whose side was he on?” Jack asked.  
“Depends on which stage of the War you are referring to.” Quatre shrugged.  
“And which one of his alter-egos you wish to talk about.” Duo muttered.  
“Alter-egos?” Daniel queried.  
“He was born Millardo Peacecraft,” Wufei stated, “The eldest child of the Peacecraft family, the Monarchy of the Sanq Kingdom. When the country was devastated by a war he lost both his parents. He chose to forgo his family’s pacifist ways in order to restore his family to the throne. His intention was for his younger sister Relena, who was raised as Relena Darlin, to wear the crown. As he was disinheriting himself by his decisions he took the name Zechs Merquise instead.”  
“A noble man.” Teal’c nodded.  
“He is a skilled warrior.” Wufei agreed.

“How do you _cope_ with all that data?” Sam asked as she emerged, “I can barely register all of it, never mind adjust in time.”  
“I don’t know,” Duo looked over the print-out, “I’d say you did pretty well.”  
“With practise you learn to _know_ when you need to adjust lift, propulsion, tilt and everything else.” Quatre shrugged, “It’s a careful balance of instincts and calculations.”  
“You want a go, big guy?” Duo tilted his head back to see Teal’c, “Go ahead. See how we fight around here.”

Teal’c needed no further urging.

123456789

Teal’c’s ride was deemed to be the best so far, which produced the comment from Duo that he had to be used to adapting to different technologies.

Daniel had his go, and almost crawled out afterwards. While he had not done ‘too bad’ as Quatre was quick to tell him, he just couldn’t cope with the forces and information supplied.

“So which way out?” Jack asked.  
“The passageway.” Duo replied, unusually subdued.

They entered the passageway, both walls were lined with murals depicting many people of all colours, races and ages.

“Who are they?” Daniel whispered.  
“Those who died.” Duo replied, “On all sides. Soldiers and rebels and civilians.”

Then voices started becoming audible.  
“It’s a Gundam!” One shouted, before tailing off into a scream.

Other voices faded in and out. Some were praying, some were pleading, some were crying battle cries.

It didn’t take long for SG1 and the Gundam Boys to realize that they were the dying cries of some of the people depicted on the walls, even if they didn’t know which voices went with which faces.

Sam noticed that the blood draining from all five boys faces, as they almost instinctively moved closer to one another.

“Duo.” Quatre murmured.  
“I told you I didn’t like it.” Duo retorted  
“How many?” Trowa asked gently.  
“I assessed it for a week.” Duo shrugged, “Walked this twice a day. I still couldn’t tune it out. I don’t like this exhibit. It’s effective. It does what it was meant to do. But I still don’t like it.”  
“What is it meant to do?” Sam asked.  
“Inform and educate.” Daniel replied, “That’s what all museum displays are meant to do.”  
“No,” Duo shook his head, “It’s meant to remind. So that we don’t do this again. To point out the cost that came with the glory.”  
“Those who paid with their lives so that we might enjoy freedom.” Wufei continued.  
“We want to be the last.” Heero declared solemnly, “The last child soldiers this planet ever produces.”  
“The last to lose their childhoods, before their time.” Quatre carried on.  
“The last to know more about weapons than toys.” Wufei nodded.  
“The last to know true fear and to choose to fight for revenge.” Duo added.  
“No more.” Trowa stated, “We will be the last.”  
“Why did you fight in the first place?” Jack asked softly.  
“Many reasons,” Duo shrugged, “All of them different. And all of them the same. We couldn’t go on like that any longer.”  
“It was time for the next movement in the Waltz.” Wufei nodded.  
“Waltz?” Daniel frowned.  
“War, Peace and Revolution.” Heero replied.  
“We’re trying to break the cycle.” Quatre stated.

They continued through the passageway, as quickly as they could.

At the end of the passageway it opened out a bit to display a final mural. It depicted six men. Five in one group, standing around a table strewn with plans. The other sat alone in a highly stuffed chair, holding a glass of wine.

At a quick glance the two groups couldn’t be more different, one showing elegance and sophistication. The other had grime and dingy lighting in the background.

SG1 stared at the final mural.  
“Did someone vandalise this?” Jack asked finally.  
“I thought about it,” Duo shrugged, “But then I realized that nothing could make the Mad Five look any stupider than they were in real life.”  
“They actually _looked_ like that?” Sam stared, “I mean the claw and the mushroom cut…”  
“Doctors J and G.” Heero stated, “Yes.”  
“The fake nose?”  
“Doktor S.” Trowa declared.  
“The moustache?”  
“Instructor H.” Quatre smiled slightly.  
“The guy that really looks like he should be in the gym, and not a scientist?”  
“Master O.” Wufei supplied.  
“And the other?” Daniel pointed to the solitary figure.  
“Treize Kushrenada.” Quatre supplied, “Leader of OZ.”  
“It’s meant to be some big reflection thing.” Duo shrugged, “How six men caused all of those deaths. And died themselves. But I… Don’t see that.”  
“What do you see?” Daniel pressed.  
“I see six men,” Duo whispered, “Six men who had no problems in ordering people to die… In ordering _children_ to die. I see six men, who robbed me of my childhood… At least G had the decency to do it to my face. Treize never even met me. And he took my innocence from me, before I was even a blip on his radar.”

Duo walked off, muttering something about getting a drink. SG1 went to follow him, but each found themselves stopped to varying degrees by the remaining Gundam Boys.

“Don’t.” Quatre murmured, “Duo has his reasons. And please, don’t mention this again. He’ll feel bad about it.”  
“We all lost something to OZ.” Trowa stated, “And none of us can forget.”  
“Then why is Duo so affected?” Sam asked, “When you are not.”  
“Maxwell wears his heart on his sleeve.” Wufei almost sniffed.  
“He shows his emotions freely.” Heero added, “And he acts upon them.”  
“Duo’s loss was different.” Quatre shrugged, “He doesn’t dwell on it any more or any less than the rest of us. But he is _reminded_ of his loss more frequently. And it is harder for him to forget.”  
“What did he loose?” Jack pressed.  
“Not for us to say.” Heero almost growled.  
“Some things are private.” Quatre retorted, almost as if he was reprimanding Jack, “We don’t talk about what we lost.”


	5. Chapter 5

“Okay,” Quatre breathed heavily, as they emerged onto the pavement, “I think we need something light hearted to cheer us up after that.”  
“I’m in.” Jack agreed, “No offence, but that last section was depressing.”  
“Cathy’s in town.” Trowa seemed to suggest, but the statement only served to confuse SG1.  
“That’s a good idea.” Quatre nodded.  
“As long as I don’t have to go near her, I’m fine.” Duo stated, from his position sitting on the museum steps.  
“Why? Are you scared?” Sam asked teasingly.  
“Cathy isn’t too fond of me.” Duo shrugged, “And she’s got a temper. And a pretty good aim.”  
“Pretty good?” Quatre snorted, “She makes a living out of that aim of hers.”  
“Are we all agreed?” Duo pressed, “We go to see Cathy?”

There was a round of nods. Even SG1 agreed, after all this was a chance to see another side of the Sphere. A different angle.

Trowa moved ahead, when they started moving, quickly putting some distance between him and the others. Quatre caught Teal’c arm gently as the Jaffa Warrior attempted to catch up.  
“No,” Quatre shook his head, “He’s gone to tell Cathy. Give him time. We’ll get there eventually.”  
“As long as he manages to talk Cathy down.” Duo muttered.  
“Scared of a _girl_ , Duo?” Jack teased, moving to tickle Duo.  
“Scared of _Cathy_.” Duo retorted, playfully batting Jack’s hands away, “She doesn’t like me.”  
“Why not?” Sam asked.  
“Trowa got amnesia during the War.” Duo sighed, “We didn’t know where he was. Cathy took him in. Sheltered him from the War. I found him. She didn’t… _Doesn’t_ like that.”  
“She lost her baby brother to the violence, long before the War.” Quatre shrugged, “She sees him in Trowa.”  
“Oh,” Sam breathed, “She’s protective.”  
“Very.” Wufei muttered, “And typically for an onna, doesn’t realize that he can take care of himself.”  
“Topic change, please!” Duo requested.  
“Alright… How did you manage to get into a bar, kid?” Jack frowned, “Isn’t there an age limit? And why was it open anyway? You left at nearly nine. Do bars open that early around here?”  
“Yes, we have an age limit,” Duo shrugged, “But that’s only on _buying_ alcohol. Going into a bar isn’t illegal. Secondly bars don’t usually open till about eleven. But the bar I went to is different. It’s a different _type_ of bar.”  
“Different type?” Daniel cut in.  
“It’s a Spacer Bar.” Duo replied, “A Pilot Bar.”  
“I don’t follow.” Daniel pressed.  
“Spacers and Pilots,” Duo started to explain, “Are often mentally in a different time zone to where they are in the Sphere. As a friend of mine says, ‘It’s always evening somewhere’. The bars reflect that. They don’t close… _Ever_.”  
“The sun is always over the yardarm somewhere.” Daniel realized, “A guy I used to know used to say that. Before he went to get alcohol at about midday.”  
“And I have no idea what that means.” Duo and Jack chorused.  
“If you two weren’t from different planets, I’d _swear_ you were related.” Sam muttered.  
“Family is what you make for yourself.” Duo shrugged, “Everything else is just relatives. You should know that.”  
“Why?” Sam stared at Duo.  
“Because I see a family when I look at you guys.” Duo replied, “I see a strong family.”  
“He’s right.” Quatre smiled, “You’re a family. Not just a team. And not just friends.”  
“Kid,” Jack looked at Duo, “What did you say to start the bar fights?”  
“This and that.” Duo shrugged, “Worst one was the bar where a religious nut was trying to convert people. Said the only thing that came from the stars were the Gods, and we should bow down and worship them… I don’t really believe in Gods.”  
“Any reason why not?” Jack asked, “I mean you wear a cross. Where we come from that would say you did believe.”  
“I was given it by one who did,” Duo replied, “And I’ve seen a lot of deaths… But I haven’t seen a miracle.”  
“I’ve seen ‘em, Kid.” Jack smiled, “Though it’s usually my team pulling ‘em outta their hats.”  
“That’s different.” Duo retorted, “That’s humans. Not Gods.”  
“So you don’t believe in Life after Death?”  
“I believe in Hell,” Duo snorted, “And I believe in Heaven. But if there is a God… They’re not helping us. We’re on our own.”  
“Then why wear the cross?” Sam asked.  
“My own reasons.” Duo shrugged, before dashing forward to join up with Heero.  
“Leave him be.” Quatre stated, “Personally I believe in life after death. And in God. And in miracles. But you’ll never get Duo to believe. I don’t stand for proselytising. Particularly on my friends.”

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As they moved forward the road started to slowly become more crowded, with lots of other people moving in the same direction.

There was an air of excitement and anticipation. Daniel noted the unusually high number of children among the crowd.

It seemed nearly everyone was converging on the same location, which also happened to be where SG1 and the Gundam Boys were headed.

Teal’c tried to use his height to his advantage, and spot the distinctively tall and lanky frame of Trowa. But the teenager did not appear to be present.

However the question of _where_ they were going was quickly answered, as SG1 noticed the tents in front of them.

“A circus?” Daniel stared, “Cathy and Trowa are meeting us at the circus?”  
“Cathy works here.” Heero stated.  
“I’ll get the tickets.” Duo dashed off. Jack only a heartbeat behind.  
“Do we get snacks, too?” Jack asked.  
“Of course!” Duo shouted back.  
“I’ll ration it.” Heero almost sighed as Quatre and Wufei turned to him.  
“Ration?” Sam frowned.  
“Duo on a sugar high is a dangerous creature.” Wufei explained.  
“We’ll try to cope with Duo.” Quatre announced, “Can you cope with the Colonel?”  
“We’ll do our best.” Sam nodded.

Duo returned with Jack, both of them carrying large containers of treats and snacks, along with the required tickets.

Then they entered the tent, and hunted for enough seats positioned together for all of them.

The moment they sat down, Daniel was hunting through his bag.  
“What are you looking for?” Quatre asked.  
“My video camera.” Daniel replied, “That’s alright, isn’t it?”  
“Go ahead.” Duo shrugged nearly spilling the popcorn.  
“Do you have to?” Jack sighed, “I mean it’s not _important_. Can’t you just enjoy the show for its own sake?”  
“If I am to compare and contrast our respective cultures,” Daniel argued, “I need to analyse forms of entertainment as well as work cultures and historical influenced.”  
“Yes, it is, sir.” Sam supplied.  
“Fine.” Jack conceded, “But don’t use up all the tape. Hammond will come after me for that.”  
“O’Neill.” Teal’c spoke up, “I do not understand. What is a circus?”  
“Well, it’s…” Jack started, before stopping, “I can’t really explain it, big guy. Watch and learn. Watch and learn.”

“When’s Trowa going to catch up?” Sam asked, after a while, “It’ll start soon.”  
“He’ll get here when he gets here.” Wufei stated, “He does have obligations as well.”  
“At this point in the day?” Jack frowned, “No offence, but I think you boys are being taken advantage of.”  
“At least the pay is good.” Duo chirped, “Don’t worry about Trowa. He knows what he can and can’t do.”  
“If he was ever in over his head, he’d call,” Quatre agreed, “We all learnt that after the War.”  
“We are stronger united than divided.” Wufei declared.  
“And anyway,” Duo grinned, “Cathy probably won’t let Trowa out of her sight.”

Considering that the teens weren’t worried about their non-appearing friend, SG1 eventually just ignored Trowa’s absence, shrugging it off as one of the many curiosities surrounding the Gundam Boys. By the time the Ringmaster opened the circus, Trowa still hadn’t arrived.

It was a standard circus in Sam’s eyes, very reminiscent of the ones she vaguely remembered her mother taking her to, before she died.

Teal’c watched in, what for him was, complete curiosity.

Daniel’s attention was fully concentrated on recording as much of the show as possible.

Jack, however, spared the occasional glance at their escorts. It was hard to miss the childish gleam in Duo’s and Quatre’s eyes, along with their amazed faces. Heero and Wufei were also entranced, but hid their enjoyment better.

Jack also noticed that despite how the others had reacted to Duo’s large supply of snack foods, they ate just as much as the braided boy, if not more. But it seemed that they were unaware of their consumption.

Duo caught Jack’s eye and winked, even as he moved the bag of popcorn onto Heero’s lap.

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The evening passed enjoyably, and before long it was nearly the end.

“Ladies and Gentlemen,” The Ringmaster declared, “Boys and girls, I am pleased to announce that tonight we have an extra act. Tonight I am proud to introduce Trowa Barton!”  
“What?” SG1 stared at the ring.

The spotlight moved upwards to show a spinning, falling figure. He landed in the centre of the ring, and bowed.

It was definitely Trowa. Even with half his face covered by a half mask, and another quarter obscured by his bangs, SG1 could clearly see that it was the usually silent teen.

“Trowa’s a clown?” Jack blurted out.  
“I know he doesn’t seem the type, does he?” Duo remarked, “He’s really good though. As is Cathy. And knowing her, she’ll be part of the act.”

Jack stared at the ring as Trowa flipped and spun and walked almost nonchalantly along the high-wire, which he had managed to land on after a particularly dizzying series of flips.

He rode lions with no protections and no complaint from the animal. Despite the clown being in a single handstand at the time.

Sam would later remark that it was like watching a one man show.

SG1 held their collective breath as Catherine… Cathy, was introduced and threw knives at the lanky boy.

“He is a fearsome warrior.” Teal’c murmured.  
“He hasn’t flinched once!” Sam stared in shock.  
“He must be really cool under fire.” Jack agreed.  
“He’s almost unflappable.” Quatre stated, a slight smug smile on his face.

Jack only barely registered Duo muttering something to him. The words stored for later consideration, as he continued to watch the show.

1234567890

The second day of negotiations was much the same as the first, with Duo going missing beforehand and only turning up afterwards.

However this time SG1 weren’t taken out anywhere, instead they went back to Quatre’s house for a quiet night in watching TV and reading books.

“Where’s Duo?” Daniel looked around, about halfway through the evening.  
“He mentioned something about dissecting the Zat today.” Jack offered, after a long pause.  
“And you _didn’t_ think that was a cause for concern?” Sam snapped.  
“To be fair,” Jack sighed, “He mentioned it to me, while… Cathy? Was throwing knives at Trowa. I had other things on my mind.”  
“He likes to be out of the way when he’s experimenting.” Wufei almost reminded.  
“Basement or attic?” Heero asked, rising to his feet.  
“He’d _better_ not be in the wine-cellar.” Quatre almost growled, “One explosion and I lose half the wine in there!”  
“I thought you didn’t drink.” Sam frowned.  
“I don’t.” Quatre shrugged, “In Sanq it’s expected to have a wine-cellar. I keep the wine for guests. Mainly at parties. I just don’t like waste.”  
“I’ll check the basement.” Wufei stated, as he walked off. Heero only a step behind him.  
“We’ll take the attic.” Quatre agreed, “I _knew_ I should have gotten him to promise to tell one of _us_.”  
“Instead of just ‘someone’.” Trowa agreed.

SG1 split up as well, Sam and Daniel going with Quatre and Trowa, while Teal’c and Jack followed Heero and Wufei.

Duo was in the attic. A large white sheet was spread out on the floor of the surprisingly roomy attic. Duo sat in the centre of the sheet, surrounded in little pieces of the Zat gun.

“Okay,” Duo was muttering to himself, “So the doohickey is connected to the whatsit. And the whatsit is linked to the thingy.”

Daniel snuck a look at Sam. He wasn’t quite sure if she was spluttering in rage or shock. Whichever it was, he didn’t want it aimed at him.

Though Daniel had to admit, Duo had taken a good deal of the Zat gun apart. Apparently with no safety precautions, other than the pair of goggles over his eyes.

“Oh, hey Quatre!” Duo chirped, finally noticing them, “Trowa. Daniel. Sam. You know I think I can increase the range on this thing. Or should I try to shrink it down first? I _like_ the folding bit… But I’m _thinking_ …”  
“That’s never a good sign.” Trowa murmured.  
“If I can compact the whole thing,” Duo carried on, “We can really fool the Go’aulds into thinking the weapon is something else. Then… Bang! _Surprise_!”  
“What are you planning?” Quatre asked nervously. The slightly manic grin on Duo’s face never normally spelt anything good in the future… Well, sometimes it did. Such as when you were facing an enemy and had him on _your_ side. Then it was the best look in the world.

“Well,” Duo frowned, “If I can make the stuff smaller, I’m pretty sure I can disguise it as a normal gun… Or at least the cannon that Heero insists on toting around. Do you think I could get a glimpse inside Teal’c weapon? I’d like to see if I could shrink it down a little. So we could use it.”  
“Is he always like this?” Daniel whispered.  
“When he’s got a new toy, yes.” Quatre replied softly.  
“Yes.” Trowa stated just as quickly and quietly.  
“You took it _apart_?!” Sam was staring at Duo.  
“Of course,” Duo shrugged, “I can’t work out how it works if I don’t see inside.”  
“You don’t even understand what half those things _do_!” Sam nearly yelled.  
“No,” Duo grinned, “But I’ll know even less if I _don’t_ look. You never learn anything if you don’t look. I mean I’ve already figured out which of the bits is the power source. And since it is conducted by metal, it’s gotta be electricity based. Or electron based. Now if that’s the case, if I switch the power source for a standard power source we use, I could turn it into a cartridge system. You’d just need to replace the cartridge to restore the power. Since I assume that these things _eventually_ run out of power.”  
“Not that often, we’ve noticed.” Daniel countered.  
“Really?” Duo looked up brightly, “Neat! Then I just need to figure out how the power supply works.”  
“Naquadah.” Sam supplied.  
“What?” Duo looked at her.  
“An ultra rare, super-heavy metal,” Sam explained, “It greatly amplifies energy. Thus a small power source can last longer and be much stronger. It is very dense. And can have devastating effects if improperly used.”  
“Amplifies energy?” Duo repeated, “Does that include explosives?”  
“Definitely.” Sam nodded.  
“What else do you know about it?” Duo pressed.  
“I’m Earth’s top expert on naquadah technology.” Sam smirked slightly, “So a lot more than you.”  
“Give me a break,” Duo laughed, “I only just found out about it. I’ll catch you up.”  
“Oh you will, will you?” Sam grinned.  
“Watch me.” Duo retorted, “Anything you can do, I can do better.”  
“You may be onto a loss there,” Daniel put in, “Sam here blew up a sun once.”  
“Really?” Duo grinned, “Co-ool.”  
“Did you _have_ to tell him?” Quatre moaned slightly.  
“He’s going to want to top that.” Trowa added.  
“How?” Daniel frowned.  
“Don’t ask.” Trowa retorted.  
“We _never_ put anything past Duo.” Quatre stated.  
“Up to and including random explosions.” Trowa declared.  
“Is there somewhere we can go where I can sit down in a chair to discuss this?” Sam piped up, having gotten firmly stuck into her discussion with Duo.  
“Did you _want_ your scientist back any time soon?” Trowa asked.  
“Yes,” Daniel shrugged, “But I think I might be onto a losing streak there.”  
“We’ll get Wufei to watch them.” Quatre announced, “Out of all of us, he’s the most likely to be able to follow everything.”

Sam and Duo didn’t stop their discussion all the way down to the study, where they sat down to go over the Zat. Or rather Sam sat down, Duo alternated between perching on the table and standing. Wufei joined them not long after, and satisfied himself with sitting in a chair reading a book, one ear turned into the conversation in order to deal with any outrageous ideas.

“Okay,” Jack started as the rest sat down in the sitting room, “Could you explain to me just how a loud kid, who is the life and soul of the party can just _vanish_ and _no-one_ notice until he is long gone?”  
“We’ve never quite figured it out either.” Quatre stated.  
“It’s a mystery.” Trowa shrugged.  
“At least when _you_ vanish,” Daniel muttered, “I’m never sure you were there in the first place. I usually jump when you _speak_.”

Trowa just smiled in response.

123456789

Later than night, SG1 made their second scheduled communication with Stargate Command.

“How is it going?” Hammond asked.  
“About what you’d expect,” Jack shrugged, “We both _want_ an alliance, and we’re both trying to milk it for all that its worth.”  
“They also want to figure out how much information and technology we would be willing to share and we’re after.” Sam added, “We’re using Go’auld tech and intel as our main negotiating point.”  
“We’ve also been shown to a couple of cultural sights.” Daniel put in, “It’s absolutely _fascinating_ how similar our cultures are…”  
“We’ll let Daniel write a report.” Jack interrupted.  
“What about their intentions?” Hammond pressed.  
“We’re discussing a mutual protection agreement.” Jack stated, “They defend us. We defend them. Our enemies are their enemies. Only real problem is getting it through their heads that peaceful words won’t work.”  
“Pacifists?” Hammond frowned, “But…”  
“Oh, only the Vice-Foreign Minister.” Sam explained, “Apparently it’s a family thing. But she is willing to discuss that point. And I think we’re getting her to understand that the Go’auld don’t negotiate.”  
“They have a pacifist negotiating?” Hammond blinked  
“She’s formerly the Queen of the World.” Jack supplied, a grin on his face.  
“Queen of the…?” Hammond stared.  
“She abdicated.” Jack was enjoying this.  
“Doctor Jackson.” Hammond sighed.  
“Yes sir?” Daniel was slightly nervous.  
“When you get a moment, please, try and make sense of their history. Concentrating on the last two or three decades. It would be nice to know what went on in that War of theirs.”  
“Sir, that may take a while. I found a book on the war and while their war only really came to a head in the last few years, it was brewing a lot longer than that. And a lot happened in the one year the actual proper fighting lasted. I’ve already managed to trace one person appearing on three different sides in the war. Without being done for desertion.” Daniel was apologetic.  
“Is that even possible?” Hammond stared.  
“As far as I can tell, factions appeared and were destroyed quite quickly. Only three groups were present throughout the entire war,” Daniel shrugged, “OZ, the Gundams and the Maganac Corps; though the last group’s allegiance seemed to vary sometimes with the Rebels and other times with the Gundams.”  
“Just make it make sense.” Hammond ordered, “Colonel, continue with the negotiations.”  
“Sir,” Jack acknowledged the order, “If possible I’d like to establish an agreement similar to the one we have with the Tok’ra and the Free Jaffa Nation. These people seem open to us and we have a lot in common.”  
“Do what you think is best, O’Neill.” Hammond replied, “Your next check-in is in twenty four hours.”  
“Understood.” Jack nodded.

123456789

“Where does Duo _go_ during these things?” Jack asked at the afternoon tea-break the next day, “I think it’s really unfair that he gets out of it.”  
“He’s checking security.” Sally stated, “And while it might be more _entertaining_ to have him here… I wouldn’t want to put him through it.”  
“Why not?” Jack pressed.  
“It would take noticeably longer, for one thing,” Sally shrugged, “Because half of our side would _love_ to get a dig in at him.”  
“Why?”  
“Because he’s seen as being lower than the low. They don’t think he _belongs_ here… Most of the time they don’t think Trowa does either, but he blends so well, they often don’t notice him. So they don’t really bother to insult him. They want to _see_ a reaction. Insulting someone when you’re not sure they’re there or you know they won’t react isn’t half as much fun to these people.”  
“But the others are seen to belong?” Jack frowned.  
“Quatre and Wufei come from wealthy families. And Heero is unofficially under Relena’s protection.”  
“Duo’s in the kitchen.” Noin declared joining in the conversation.  
“How can you tell?”  
“The food is subtly different,” Noin pointed at one plate in particular, “The kid knows I _adore_ those… So there’s more of them.”  
“The food is less fanciful overall.” Sally added, “Simpler. But no less impressive. Just less likely to baffle our taste-buds.”  
“If the kid likes you… Counts you as a friend, he’ll break his back bending over to accommodate you.” Noin agreed.  
“So he’s cooking?” Jack started to worry.  
“No,” Noin shrugged, “He’s probably talked the cooks into making the changes.”  
“Yeah, and they’re gonna keep on doing it.” A voice piped up.  
“Duo?” Sally blinked, turning around and seeing the braided boy.  
“Security caught me.” Duo retorted.  
“Are they getting better, or were you not trying?” Noin asked.  
“Noin!” Sally exclaimed.  
“Not sure,” Duo shrugged, “But I promised Une-Lady that if security caught me, I would sit through the rest of the day’s negotiations.”  
“Don’t worry, kid.” Jack tapped Duo on the shoulder, “There’s only the short session left. You can go back to your games tomorrow.”  
“No, he can’t,” Quatre joined the conversation, “He has tomorrow booked off, and we have two days rest after tomorrow.”  
“A weekend?” Sam stared.  
“Whatever you want to call it.” Duo shrugged, “I don’t understand them.”  
“How can you not understand a weekend?” Sam stared, “Its two days rest. There’s nothing _to get.”_  
“I’m Sweeper.” Duo replied, “We work when there’s work. And we have breaks when there’s not… Or we’re about to burn out. Whichever happens first. Sweepers don’t stop, just because everyone else does. And if that means we work for ten days solid… We work ten days solid.”  
“It’s the Sweeper way.” Noin agreed, “Preventers are sort of similar. But with more enforced breaks.”  
“I’m more Sweeper than Preventer.” Duo stated, “I work when I work. I chill when I don’t. And I drag Cat out of his impressive office when _he’s_ burning out. I do the same for Fei and Heero, though they actually _get_ scheduled down-time. And I check in on Trowa occasionally. But he’s smart enough to know that you don’t stand when you can sit and you don’t sit when you can lie down. Only for him it’s you don’t work when there’s nothing urgent to do and you rest when you can get a break. He’s a smart guy.”  
“So when were you going to rest _last_ time?” Jack poked Duo teasingly.  
“When you left.” Duo shrugged, “Just everything piled up. If you hadn’t turned up when you did… If Cat had called me just ten minutes later… I would have been asleep. And nothing short of a bomb would have woken me. When I crash, I crash.”  
“You should have seen him during the War,” Quatre laughed, “One time, after a battle, he fixed Deathscythe, all on his own – despite the fact that the Maganacs were willing to help – then fell asleep on the foot!”  
“Oh, like you can talk,” Duo retorted, “You didn’t know how to fall asleep, your brain was whizzing so fast. You played your violin till your fingers bled.”  
“Heads up.” Trowa murmured as he joined the group, “Incoming.”

“Colonel O’Neill,” Relena smiled as she approached the group, “Your colleague tells me that your planet does not have space colonies.”  
“That is correct, ma’am.” Jack replies almost automatically, noticing Daniel a few steps behind Relena, moving to catch up.  
“Well,” Relena smiled, “You simply _must_ visit a colony to see what they are like. Mister Maxwell, would you be kind enough to escort our guests to L4 tomorrow? Give them a tour?”  
“Aw Princess,” Duo sighed, “Any day, but tomorrow. I’ve had the day booked off for months.”  
“Rearrange it.”  
“That’s hardly fair, Miss Relena.” Quatre protested, “L4 is my territory. I’ll escort them.”  
“But you have that Stockholders Meeting, which you told me you could not rearrange.” Relena pointed out, “Trowa has his firearms re-qualification, which if he misses he cannot take for another six months. And both Heero and Wufei have hand-to-hand combat demonstrations, which have been booked in for nearly a year. There is no one else.”  
“Well then, put it for the day _after_ tomorrow,” Quatre stated, “Duo arranged this _months_ in advance. I fail to see why he should rearrange long standing plans, purely on your whim.”  
“I’ll do it.” Duo sighed, before Relena could argue back, “I’ll do it, Princess.”  
“Duo?” Quatre frowned.  
“Don’t worry,” Duo smiled brightly, “I said I’ll do it, so I’ll do it… I’ve got a plan.”

Jack thought that Duo’s words would mean an end to the discussion, but it seemed that it was not to be. Even as Duo wandered out of the room muttering about phone calls and arrangements the other Gundam Boys were volunteering to do the job. Heero and Wufei having moved towards the group as the conversation progressed.


	6. Chapter 6

Duo didn’t make it to the last session. Or he didn’t _appear_ to. It was only after Relena’s entourage had left that Trowa sauntered over to the windows and pulled one of the thick curtains back, revealing Duo perched on the window ledge.

“Hey,” Duo drawled the greeting out slightly, “Hi guys.”  
“You said…” Noin started.  
“I said I’d be present.” Duo retorted, “I never said I would be _visible.”_  
“But…” Noin tried again.  
“Give up Noin.” Sally laughed, “Any _one_ of these boys can outsmart us. Duo just doesn’t bother to let us know that he’s done it.”  
“Do you need help making the arrangements?” Quatre asked Duo.  
“No need,” Duo grinned, “I got us a commercial flight to L2. There’s a Sweeper run from L2 to L4. Then there’s a commercial shuttle from L4 to home. All sorted. We’ll have to make an early start of it… But that’s alright.”  
“Last minute tickets are expensive.” Wufei frowned.  
“Well…” Duo looked embarrassed at Wufei’s unasked question, “As it was the Princess’ idea, I put it on her expense account.”  
“Duo!” Sally laughed.  
“My funds wouldn’t cover one.” Duo shrugged, “Her suggestion… Surely she understands that the money would need to come from _somewhere.”_  
“You went for first class tickets, didn’t you?” Noin pinched the bridge of her nose.  
“Well, we ought to travel in style,” Duo smiled, “And what’s your problem, Lu? You’re not her baby-sitter anymore. The duty’s been passed on.”  
“I carried it for a long while.” Noin shrugged, “And she’s still Zechs’ sister. I still care.”  
“You’re her friend.” Duo countered, “Not her mother. Or her sister. Let her make her own mistakes. I don’t do no harm.”  
“Double negative.” Trowa pointed out.  
“Okay,” Duo shrugged, “I only harm her pride and her expense account. And the latter only when she asks me to organise something.”  
“I’m with him on this one.” Jack pointed to Duo.  
“Why can you only take your firearms qualification once every six months?” Sam asked, changing the subject, “It doesn’t sound very efficient.”  
“It is because we’re technically underage,” Wufei shrugged slightly, “Thus we are only allowed to schedule each of our re-qualifications once every six months. We also have to qualify every year, instead of the standard two years.

“The first is to reduce pressure and stress on us. While the second is to ensure that we are not out of our depth.”  
“That’s contradictory.” Sam frowned.  
“That’s politics.” Trowa snorted.

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“Time to move!” Duo chirped as he bounded into the suite, the next morning.  
“Jeeze Kid!” Jack groaned as he rolled out of bed, “Didn’t you get any sleep? … Or did you just not bother to try?”  
“I _told_ you we’d have to make an early start.” Duo shrugged, “And no… I didn’t sleep.”  
“Why not?” Sam moaned, “I mean we don’t _have_ to leave now do we?”  
“Look,” Duo sighed, “I have to make a quick visit to L2. Then we’re going to L4. If I’m to show you the sights, we have to be there _early…_ Because there’s a fair bit of travelling between L2 and L4.”  
“Can’t we just see the sights on L2 and _say_ we went to L4?” Jack moaned.  
“Tourists don’t go to L2.” Duo shrugged, “It’s the poorest of the colonies. L4 is tourist central. The richest of the colony clusters.”  
“Ah,” Daniel blinked, “They’d notice.”  
“Yeah.” Duo agreed, “Come on. There’s coffee and breakfast on the shuttle. It’ll only take a few minutes to get there.”

It only took a few moments for SG1 to pull their clothes on and grab their bags, even though their thoughts were muddied with sleep. They then went down to the rather full garage.

Duo led them to one of the cars, climbing into the driver’s seat.

“Err, kid…” Jack had managed to regain _some_ of his mental faculties, “We were told to never let you drive.”  
“Who by?” Duo frowned, as he did his seat belt up.  
“Sally or Noin.” Sam managed to recall, as Jack struggled for an answer.  
“I protest!” Duo muttered, “I’m the safest Pilot around. I can put a shuttle through the eye of a needle! Anyway… _I’m_ driving.”

Jack didn’t have the energy to complain.

About thirty seconds later, he wished he had. Duo hadn’t crashed, but Jack was sure that was as much due to the lack of traffic around at the early hour as it did with Duo’s skill.

Sam was just as sure that the statement should read: ‘Hadn’t crashed, _yet!’._

Daniel had too much adrenaline in his system to even _think._

And Teal’c was stoicly sitting in the back, seemingly unaware of Duo weaving the car though the traffic with literal inches and seconds to spare.

“Kid,” Jack snapped, “If this is how you always drive I’d _hate_ to see your insurance premiums!”  
“What?” Duo laughed, “I’ve never crashed… Or hit anything I didn’t mean to.”  
“They told us that you had to repair a lot of things.” Sam argued.  
“That’s other people crashing.” Duo shrugged, “My vehicle’s always fine. It’s just some people try and copy me or they react badly when they see me coming… I don’t really see why I should have to fix their stuff.”  
“Kid, I really don’t blame them for freaking out.” Jack muttered, clinging onto the seat as much as possible.  
“Hey!” Duo protested, “I’m better than Heero. He wrote off the last car he borrowed from the car pool.”  
“And I’m not sure you’re not going to do the same with _this_ one.” Jack retorted.  
“Sure I’m not!” Duo snorted, “And anyway, we’re here!”  
“Thank god.” Sam murmured.  
“I think I’m going to be sick.” Daniel moaned, as Duo quickly parked the car in the nearly deserted car park. Only a few workers were around.

Duo positively _bounced_ out of the car.

“Hey Kid!” One of the workers in the car-park waved at Duo, “You go grab your tickets. They’re at the ready desk. We’ll get your buddies to the right place.”  
“Thanks!” Duo chirped as he dashed off, “Next Tuesday, at the bar?”  
“We’ll be there.”  
“Here,” One of them leaned in and offered a hand to Sam, “Let me help you. Duo’s a little exuberant when he drives.”  
“Understatement.” Sam growled as she managed to stand up, “I’ve been in fighter _aircraft_ that pulled less dangerous stunts!”  
“Whoa!” One of the workers breathed as Teal’c got out the car, “You’re hard core! Ain’t see anybody unaffected ‘fore!”  
“Respect.” Someone muttered.  
“What’s your name, big-guy?”  
“Teal’c.”  
“Congratulations, Teal’c, you’ve ridden with the Kid and passed with flying colours.”  
“He always drives like that?” Jack asked.  
“Yeah. He’s actually much better if he’s piloting a space craft. Less likely to pull crazy stunts… Unless he’s being fired upon.”  
“Kid claims he can thread a needle with any vehicle going… No one argues with that claim.”  
“I’ve seen him do it. I woulda sworn that _no-one_ could fit that shuttle through that hole.”  
“I wanna see him in one of _our_ planes.” Jack muttered.  
“No, Jack.” Daniel shook his head, “I think that might be dangerous.”  
“We’d end up bursting the General’s ulcer!” Sam agreed.  
“Indeed.” Teal’c added.  
“Alright.” Jack sighed, “We don’t let Duo play with the…”  
“Play with the what?” Duo chirped from behind them.  
“For crying out loud, kid!” Jack swore, “Don’t _do_ that!”  
“Sorry,” Duo grinned, “Come on! We’re going to be late. Tony, I thought you said you’d get them to the right place?”  
“Sorry, kid. You were a bit faster than we expected. And we hadda pay our respect to the big guy. He ain’t even phased by your driving.”  
“‘Course not,” Duo shrugged, “Teal’c’s solid.”  
“Go… And try not to throw the pilot out of the cockpit and take over again, kid.”  
“It was that _one_ time!” Duo threw his hands up into the air, “The guy was a moron! He didn’t know what he was doing. The guy was on the verge of killing everyone through _stupidity!_ All because he didn’t want to look like a fool.”  
“How close was it?” Jack noted the seriousness behind the jovial words, as they walked away from the laughing workers.  
“It was pretty close.” Duo sighed, “Idiot didn’t read his dials correctly. He had us coming in too steep on the trans-atmosphere jump. I barely noticed in time. Some days I really _hate_ not being allowed to fly myself.”  
“Why aren’t you?” Sam asked.  
“Ships cost money.” Duo shrugged, “And I’m not old enough to be hired as a proper pilot for a company. When I’m on Preventer business I can do as I please, as long as I’m not undercover… I like to pilot myself… But it’s not always practical… You can’t tell me that you or Jack like to let someone else fly you.”  
“It isn’t something we’re fond of.” Sam agreed.

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SG1 found themselves led quickly through the security checks and measures of the space-port and soon were on the shuttle.

“Impressive.” Jack noted the sleek interior and comfortable seats. He was particularly impressed by the smooth take-off, mere minutes after they got seated.  
“Only the best.” Duo smirked, “I _was_ using the Princess’ name after all.”  
“Kid,” Jack looked at Duo, “It seems to me that you don’t particularly like Miss Darlain. Why?”  
“Look,” Duo sighed, “I respect her. She’s one hell of a politician. She believes in Peace and Pacifism. And she stands by her beliefs. She makes a stand. She’s really good at what she does… It’s just… We come from different worlds. She doesn’t understand why I fight so hard. She wants to help people, but the way she does it… It just gets on my nerves. Her intentions are good. But she seems patronising… She’s always telling me that I need to get an education. That I’ll never get anywhere if I don’t apply myself academically. She says I’m letting the Preventers down, by being a simple mechanic, when I could be much more. She says I’m not applying my incredible intellect in the right directions. That I’m wasting my time with pranks and my ‘toys’… And not just my time, but everyone else’s.”  
“You dislike her because she wants you to better yourself?” Daniel frowned.  
“No,” Duo shook his head, “I don’t get on with her, because she doesn’t see that I’m _happy_ as I am. If I don’t care that I’m a simple mechanic… Why should she?”  
“Simple mechanic?” Sam snorted, “No simple mechanic could understand naquada technology so quickly. She’s right, you have an amazing mind.”  
“But what if I _want_ to stay the way I am?” Duo asked, “I’m happy. Why should what level of education I have affect anyone else? I like doing what I do. Why does she have to try and force her standards onto me? And why does my education reflect on the Preventers? Or even my friends? I can’t follow her logic… I never could.”  
“You’ve always been at odds?” Daniel pressed.  
“Sort of,” Duo shrugged, “That’s why she tries to get me to do things for her. She tries to assign tasks that she _knows_ I won’t want to do… Or that one of the others wouldn’t mind doing… To me.”  
“I don’t get it.” Jack frowned.  
“She’s trying to force my hand. To get me to snap one day. To try and prove that I am better than how she treats me.” Duo sighed, “She actually respects me, in her own way… She just wants me to fulfil what she _sees_ as my full potential.”  
“And you don’t?” Sam pressed.  
“I’ve my own rep. Among my own. And they don’t need any paper to prove what I can do. I’m happy and I make a good living. I learn what I need to learn… Not what someone else thinks I should learn… I never did well in schools anyway.”

Duo rose to go to the head, effectively ending the conversation.

“I think that’s a touchy subject.” Daniel mused.  
“I _know_ it is.” Jack retorted, “I don’t think he exactly had the same upbringing as the others.”  
“No. He did not.” Teal’c spoke, “He plays the fool to hide a warrior’s pain. I had not thought such a man was possible.”  
“But what hurt him?” Sam frowned, “It can’t have been the War. I’d say it was too old a pain for that.”  
“Let’s give him his privacy.” Jack declared, “Anyway, we won’t be able to figure it out. We’re missing a lot of information.”  
“You suspect, don’t you?” Daniel muttered.  
“Let’s just say, I’ve seen eyes like his before.” Jack replied, “And I don’t like to think about what it means.”

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L2 looked pretty clean and tidy at first. Until Duo led them away from the Space-Port. Then the problems started to show.

Cracks in the walls and rubbish left to rot on the streets. It all accumulated the further away from the Space-Port they progressed.

“Duo?” Sam called out, not quite wanting to ask the question.  
“Gotta keep the places the rich people go clean.” Duo shrugged, “L2 can’t afford much else.”

Suddenly Duo held up a hand to stop them.  
“Pip!” he yelled, “I saw ya scrawny butt. Get out here. Gotta job for ya.”

A dark skinned child appeared seemingly from nowhere. He had no shoes on his feet and what little clothing he wore was dirty and ragged.

“What ya want?” The child demanded. By Daniel’s guess, he was no older than seven.  
“I got somethin’ ta do.” Duo shrugged, “And they need breaky. Take ‘em to the café. My dime for ya and ‘em.”  
“How long?”  
“Hour, maybe two.”  
“Pay up front.”  
“Half now, half later. Ya know I don’t lie.”  
“One hundred creds.”  
“Fifty.”  
“Ninety.”  
“Fifty five.”  
“Eighty.”  
“Sixty.”  
“Seventy five. And no lower.”  
“Agreed.”

SG1 watched as the two boys spat in their palms and shook hands on the deal.

“They stay with ya the whole time.” Duo cautioned.  
“Promise.” Pip nodded.  
“Guys,” Duo turned back to SG1 as he started to count out Pip’s fee, “This is Pip. He’ll look after you, till I get back. He’s an accomplished pick-pocket, so I will be shaking him by his ankles later to check if he stole from you… Good news is that while you’re with him, no one _else_ will try at you.”  
“How long will you be?” Jack asked.  
“Hour,” Duo shrugged, “Maybe two, at most. See ya!”

Duo dashed off, his braid waving behind him like a tail. He was out of sight in seconds.

“Okay, Pip.” Jack looked down at the small boy, “Do you know why Duo came here?”  
“Yeah.” Pip shrugged.  
“Can we see?” Sam asked.  
“Why’d ya wanna?”  
“‘Cause he’s a mystery.” Daniel replied.  
“S’long as I get breaky.”  
“Sure. We wouldn’t want to stay long anyway… Just want to see.” Jack grinned.  
“Follow me. We’ll need ta take a cut.”


	7. Chapter 7

Duo walked towards the black monument. In a flowing movement he produced a single white candle and a lighter from a pocket. He used the lighter to melt the bottom of the candle. The melted wax was then used to fix the candle to the monument. He then lit the candle. The lighter vanished into a pocket. Duo fished his cross out from underneath his top. He lightly kissed it.

“Hey,” Duo’s voice was uncharacteristically soft, “I’m back again. Been a long year. Met some new people. From another planet. Real aliens. You’d have liked that, wouldn’t you? We’re not alone, and all that rot? They’re good people though. The eldest reminds me of you, Father. He knows I’m no tame creature. But he doesn’t seem to mind. He laughs.

“You would prefer the youngest, Sister. Oh, he’s learned hardship. But he cares. He’s got a kind heart. Like Quatre. You remember I told you about him? This guy’s the same, only… I don’t know. I think he’s missing something… someone… somewhere… I don’t know. Then again, I don’t know him that well. Could just be that he’s lost someone he cared about. I went through a bad time too.”

Duo shook his head as if chasing out thoughts.  
“Never mind.” He carried on, “There’s a woman with them. All science and logic. What a mind. She’s not weak. But she’s never lived hand to mouth. I think Daniel has. That’s the guy who’s like Cattie. Jack’s like Father. Sam’s the girl. All smarts. But book smarts. She don’t know the street. She’s tough. She’d survive. But I don’t think her pride would. She’s proud. Not a bad thing, mind you. But on the streets… Well, you know what it’s like. You’ve got to be willing to do a lot of stuff. I don’t think she would. She’s got morals. Real high ones. I can respect that. Reminds me of you, Sister. You never quite understood us. But you loved us just the same. No harm in not understanding. As long as you’re open and accept that you don’t understand. No prejudice. Different raising means different people.

“The last of them is this _big_ guy. Teal’c he’s called. He’s really tall. Really strong. Can fight Heero on an even keel. Hand to hand. I need daggers for that. Plus everything the street taught me. He’s honourable though. I think he’s gentle with kids. Certainly didn’t try to harm the desert brats. They say he’s different. Altered somehow. The others are just like us. He’s more alien. Kinda cool.”

Duo just kept rambling on. Obviously telling his year to a stone monument that no-one seemed to visit apart from him.

Across the street, in an abandoned building, SG1 and Pip were peering out of windows, watching the small ritual.

“He’ll stay like that for an hour or two.” Pip told them, “He does this every year. Talks to the stone. Tells it what he’s done in the year.”  
“Why?” Sam asked, as Pip led them back to the main tourist area of the colony.  
“Dunno.” Pip shrugged, “Heard a rumour or five. But nothing solid.”  
“Here.” Daniel handed over a candy bar, “What have you heard?”  
“The adults call him Maxwell’s Demon,” Pip spoke quickly, “They say he ran a gang back when he was a kid. They tried to steal from the Alliance. Food. Nothing big. But the locals didn’t like it. Sent the gang to the Church. Father Maxwell took them in. Only Duo didn’t get adopted. Too wild. Too dangerous. He fought. Kids ended up in hospital. Then the Massacre happened. Duo survived. Only survivor. Vanished off the Sphere. First turned up a year later. Then stopped two years before the Gundam War. Didn’t show during the War. Come each year since. Monument erected after Gundam War. Before, candles in bowls.”  
“You sure know a lot,” Jack stared, “For not knowing very much.”  
“He’s a street kid,” Daniel replied, “Nothing is free.”  
“You’re from the street?” Pip blinked, “No offence, but…”  
“No, I’m not.” Daniel laughed lightly, “But when I was younger, I ran with a few.”  
“You what?” Jack stared.  
“On my parents’ digs.” Daniel replied, “I was young. They didn’t mind. I brought food and gave my old clothes.”  
“Ya were a tag-along.” Pip snorted, “Shoulda seen it.”  
“Tag-along?” Sam frowned.  
“Rich kid playing poor kid.” Pip retorted.  
“Yeah,” Daniel shrugged, “Pretty much. Only I was lonely. In a foreign country. And none of the local rich kids wanted to play with me.”  
“What do you mean you should have seen it?” Jack asked.  
“He knows how we run.” Pip grinned, “He ain’t got the edge. So he ain’t one of us. But he ran with us. Ya giit?”  
“I giit.” Daniel smirked, before turning to Jack, “I know how things work. I understand the streets. But I haven’t got that edge. It’s not in my eyes. I’ve never lived on the streets. I’m too soft. Gangs of young kids will occasionally allow a rich kid to tag along. When they hit about ten, they won’t any more. The rich kids aren’t tough enough.”

Sam blinked at this little piece of Daniel’s history. It was a surprise to her. She couldn’t quite imagine a young Daniel Jackson running wild in the streets.

“Come on.” Jack waved them away from their vantage point, “Let’s go find breakfast. Pip, you lead on.”

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“Street-rat,” A café owner sniffed as Pip tucked in, “Always hungry.”  
“Adults,” Pip muttered around a mouthful of food, “Always greedy.”

Jack wasn’t really surprised at the amount of food Pip was managing to pack away. He was content with his simple cereal, but Pip had enough food on his plate for a starving Marine.

Sam had gone to fetch refills of coffee from the counter.

“Why is he with you?” The owner asked.  
“Our friend bought his protection, while he did a few private things. Said it’d stop us getting robbed.”  
“You can’t trust them.”  
“He seems to respect Duo.”  
“Then your friend must be an old street-rat, if you ask me. The rats only trust other rats. They don’t trust adults. How old is your friend?”  
“About eighteen.” Sam shrugged.  
“Then he was a lucky street-rat. He lived through the Plague.”  
“The Plague?”  
“A disease that swept the Colony about twelve years ago. Killed most of the rats. They didn’t trust the hospitals to provide them with the cure.”  
“Is there help for them?”  
“There’s the Winner Centre. It provides free food, clothing, shelter and medical help for the needy. And an education. But the rats don’t want to help themselves. They’d rather take what they need. It’s such a shame. Mister Winner put a lot of money into the Centre. He tries to care for people. But they don’t care about him.”  
“Why do you say that?”  
“You didn’t hear? During the War his own colony virtually killed his father. All because the late Mister Winner didn’t want to let OZ build weapons on the colony.”  
“Really?” Sam blinked.  
“Yes. They stood back while OZ killed him… Though that’s nothing compared to L5.”  
“What happened there?”  
“OZ threatened to destroy a colony and all its inhabitants, if a Gundam Pilot didn’t surrender.”  
“I guess he surrendered then?”  
“They say he was going to. But the colony self-destructed before he did. Their Honour wouldn’t allow them to be used against the Pilot. Who, they say, was a member of the colony.”  
“You really don’t know much about the Gundam Pilots?” Sam pressed.  
“Just their number. They asked not to have their identities revealed. But there are plenty of rumours. Some say they were trained from birth. Others that they were former members of OZ, who became disillusioned with all the lies and corruption. Some say that there weren’t actually any Pilots at all, that the Gundams had Artificial Intelligence. The theories go on and on.”  
“What’s your theory?”  
“Don’t have one. I partially believe that the Pilots came from the Colonies. And that there was one from L1, L3, L4 and L5, but I highly doubt that anyone from L2 was involved. Back then we were so apathetic, we didn’t care about anything but our own survival.”  
“It was that bad?”  
“We were still recovering from the Plague… And the destruction of the Maxwell Church. That shook us a bit. Father Maxwell was a pacifist. Unfortunately some rebels tried to take advantage of that. The Alliance went in to deal with it and over two hundred and fifty people died.”  
“I saw the memorial.” Sam nodded, “But I didn’t realize…”  
“Few people do. No… L2 was too apathetic back then. Our Rebels weren’t organised enough to produce a Pilot.”

Sam wandered back to the table, thoughts buzzing in her head. She had learnt a lot, but didn’t quite know what everything was pointing to. However she knew that what she had learnt was important.

123456789

“Come on,” Duo chirped as he arrived, “Tom won’t wait forever. We need to go.”  
“Tom your friend?” Jack asked, rising.  
“Sorta.” Duo shrugged, “He’s the one getting us from L2 to L4 though.”  
“You called in a favour.” Sam realized.  
“Kinda.” Duo grinned, “Pip take good care of you?”  
“Yeah, kid.” Jack grinned, as Duo settled the tab.  
“Alright,” Duo turned on Pip, “Cough it up… Or do I have to turn you upside down?”

Sighing Pip started to remove small items from his pockets, all of which SG1 recognised as being theirs. Nothing of any great value monetary wise, but all important.

“And the rest of it.” Duo instructed, when Pip stopped.  
“Bastard.” Pip muttered, as he removed some more items.  
“Probably.” Duo shrugged.  
“How did he…?” Sam breathed.  
“It’s a skill.” Duo replied, “Alright, brat… Here’s the rest of your pay.”

Duo quickly counted out some credits from his wallet. Pip snatched the cash.  
“Five times twenty eight?” Duo asked.  
“Hundred and forty.” Pip fired back.  
“Giit!” Duo ordered, “And don’t forget school! Learn nothing…”  
“Stay nothing.” Pip finished, “I know.”

Pip tore off down the street, quickly vanishing from sight in the crowd.

Duo didn’t even bother to watch as the boy disappeared, he simply turned and headed off in the opposite direction… Back to the Space-Port.

“Will he be alright?” Sam asked gently.  
“He’s smart.” Duo shrugged, “He’ll get his education… Long as he stays out of the violent gangs… He’ll be fine.”  
“You are certain of your facts?” Teal’c spoke up.  
“Very.” Duo nodded, “Cattie set up the centre here. Once they’re educated, he helps them get jobs. Things are changing. It’s just real slow.”  
“Well, at least things are changing.” Jack smiled.  
“Yeah,” Duo breathed, “Just wish it hadn’t taken this long. Solo might have made it… Anyway! We’ve got to go to the Dry Docks.”  
“Dry Docks?” Sam frowned, “I don’t follow.”  
“You’ll see.” Duo replied cryptically.  
“Can I ask a few questions about the structure of the colony?” Sam asked.  
“Sure!” Duo shrugged, “Fire away. I don’t have all the answers, but I’ve got a fair few of them.”  
“What creates the gravity?” Sam started.  
“Mixture,” Duo smiled, “Gravity System, plus centrifugal force. The wheel rotates.”  
“Why a wheel shape?” Daniel queried, “Surely a cylinder would be a better idea.”  
“You’d need a better Gravity System.” Duo retorted, “Just to maintain Earth Gravity. Which we _have_ to do, as much as possible. Otherwise muscles get too weak to sustain a person on Earth.”  
“Could you not increase Gravity?” Jack frowned, “Make a person _stronger?”_  
“I _think_ that’s what happened to Heero.” Duo sighed, “But really Gravity Systems large enough for a Colony aren’t able to produce that much force. You can only really produce higher gravity in a small area. We don’t have the _capacity_ to produce higher gravity fields. Though, if I’m correct, using the Naquadah would solve this issue. Then we’d be able to build different colony shapes… Maybe a proper sphere. With all the stuff inside. O’course that’ll have its own issues… I need to draw it out.”

Duo was rubbing his temples as he walked, obviously thinking about the problem.

“Why five colonies?” Jack asked.  
“There’s only five points for a stable stationary orbit.” Duo replied, “And we don’t have the technology to put a colony in a moving orbit. Satellites, yes. Colonies, no. Not to mention it’d be hell trying _to_ fly to the thing in the first place.”  
“What about the spindle?” Sam pressed.  
“The Cylinder?” Duo raised an eyebrow, “Lower gravity. Generally contains all the main systems for the colony. Bit of a pain to _get_ to. But the structure of a colony is relatively efficient… At least… We haven’t found a _better_ way yet.”

Sam and Duo continued to play ‘question and answer’, as Duo led them past the main entrance to the Space-Port to a sealed, air-tight hatch, complete with a complicated lock. Duo quickly tapped in a code, then laid his hand on the palm-scanner.

“Plus four.” Duo stated, before trying to open the hatch. Teal’c gently pushed the boy out of the way and quickly opened it instead.  
“An air-lock?” Jack was puzzled.  
“It makes sense, sir.” Sam shrugged, “This is a floating colony. You’d need precautions to protect people.”  
“You know,” Daniel looked around, “I’d almost forgotten it was a colony. This could be any city on Earth.”  
“You should see it at night.” Duo smiled, “We even have a fake moon… Though it’s stuck on Gibbous. The other colonies have false stars as well. But they don’t twinkle. And the moon doesn’t look anywhere _near_ as beautiful as it does from Earth.”  
“You like the stars.” Jack grinned.  
“I like the moon.” Duo corrected, “I never saw stars until I was about thirteen. Didn’t see them twinkle until I was fifteen. But I saw the moon, or a pale imitation of it every night.”  
“Wow!” Daniel breathed, as Teal’c opened the hatch on the other side of the air-lock, having closed the first.

Sam was staring in shock. The Dry Docks was a large room or hanger that held several ships, all of them in a sort of Shipping-Channel. All apparently floating in mid-air.

“Watch your step.” Duo instructed, “Gravity field is lower in here. About a third of normal. It’s even lower in the lane. So don’t try going in there. You need to be trained. Especially considering the dangers.”  
“What dangers?” Sam asked.  
“Why does this place exist?” Daniel questioned, at exactly the same time.  
“The dangers,” Duo pointed ahead of himself, as he carefully moved towards the ships, “Well, you never know when a ship’s going to move, unless you learn the dock-hands’ calls. And there’s all the other stuff going on. Not to mention the lower-gravity thing. And as for why the Dry Docks exist… We can’t get the big cargo-holds open using the Wet Docks. The docking hatches aren’t large enough. So we use the Dry Docks. The Wet Docks are for small stuff or passengers. The Dry Docks can also be used for maintenance.”  
“I don’t see any water, kid.” Jack pointed out.  
“Hang over,” Duo shrugged, “From the ships on the sea. It made sense.”

Duo touched down next to one of the craft.  
“Welcome to the ‘Black Pig’.” He said to SG1, “But some of us call her ‘Tom’.”  
“I do not follow, Duo.” Teal’c frowned almost imperceptibly, “Is not ‘Tom’ a male name?”  
“That it is,” A new voice declared, “But every ship, whether Space or Sea is female. Hey, Kid. These your friends?”  
“That they are, John.” Duo chirped to the crew member standing at the entrance to the ‘Black Pig’. “Permission to come aboard?”  
“Permission granted.” John grinned, “You and yours are just in time. Lui plans to leave in the next few minutes.”  
“Then we’d better not waste any time.” Duo stated, “All aboard!”

SG1 entered the ship after Duo. It was very different to their earlier craft. The bulkheads were visible and the fittings were obviously older, even though they were well maintained. Surprisingly the floor was painted, instead of carpeted. The paint mimicked a wooden floor, however the effect was somewhat spoiled by scuffmarks and unidentifiable dried spills.

The walls were painted in cheery colours, but nothing too garish.

However, there was also a painted figure. A cartoon-style boy in his early teens, dressed in a loose red and white stripped t-shirt and cut-off jeans. He was smiling a smile worthy of the Mona Lisa, enigmatic and mysterious.

“Who’s that?” Daniel asked, even as Sam studied what she could see of the interior of the ship.  
“Tom.” Duo smirked, “The Cabin-Boy.”  
“I don’t get the reference.” Daniel frowned.  
“It’s a children’s book.” Duo shrugged, “Quite a few Sweeper ships are named after Pirate ships, usually fictional. Tom was the Cabin-Boy. And quite possibly the only person who _actually_ knew what was going on.”  
“He’s become the mascot for the ‘Black Pig’.” A new voice announced, “Hi, I’m Lui and the Captain for this flight. Please follow the Kid to your seats. And buckle up.”

The seats were different too. The ones on the Commercial Shuttle had been more like plane seats, with only one belt. These ones were more cocooning. There were more straps. In fact they were more reminiscent of the seat in the Taurus Simulator.

“Why the different seats?” Jack queried, as he strapped himself in.  
“There’s always a risk of explosions.” Duo shrugged, “Better to ride out the shockwave.”  
_“Explosions?”_ Daniel stared at Duo.  
“They don’t happen often,” Duo replied, “And the commercial shuttles steer well clear of debris fields that cause them, as do the private shuttles. It’s only Sweeper craft, like this one, that goes near them. There’s no risk on this flight. It’s a straight run, not a scavenger run. We’re not going near the debris. And it’s not going near us.”  
“You need to make a distinction?” Sam frowned.  
“It orbits,” Duo sighed, “We have to plan routes based around where everything is _going_ to be. Not where it was when we planned the route. Not too difficult. There’s a program, which does it.”  
“Why haven’t you just cleared it?” Jack pressed.  
“There’s a lot of it.” Duo retorted, “We’re getting there. But it takes time. We have to be careful. There’s explosives out there.”  
“Slow and steady?” Jack almost teased.  
“Better than fast and dead.” Duo chirped. “Plus we’d have even more scrap to collect. Lots of little bits. That’s the worst.”

Further conversation was cut off by the roaring of the engine.

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Once they were out of the Dry Docks, Duo was quickly out of his restraints. SG1 took his lead and also removed their restraints.

“Feel free to wander around.” Duo smiled, “Just stay clear of the Engine Room and the Cargo Hold. Also if you could not get in the way of the dashboard, it would be appreciated. Apart from that... Have fun.”  
“What are you going to do?” Daniel queried.  
“Sleep.” Duo replied, leaning back in his chair, “Or rather nap. I didn’t get any sleep, remember?”  
“Will you be comfortable like that?” Sam stared.  
“No different than the War.” Duo shrugged, “Most Suits had seats like these. I think these ones are actually former Suit seats.”

Duo half turned in the chair, and pulled his legs up to his chest. He laid his head down on his crossed arms and closed his eyes. In only a few moments Duo’s breathing was even and deep.

“Typical soldier.” Jack snorted, amusement clearly visible in his eyes.  
“Huh?” Daniel turned to stare at Jack.  
“Don’t stand, if you can sit. Don’t sit, if you can lie down. If you can lie down, you might as well take a nap.” Sam recited, “Standard policy.”  
“One of Murphy’s laws.” Jack agreed.

SG1 slipped out of the room, careful not to wake the dozing boy.

“See the Kid decided to doze.” John laughed, coming out of the cockpit, “Call me when it’s my shift, Lui.”  
“Will do!” The pilot yelled back.  
“Gotta love these milk-runs.” John sighed, running a hand through his hair, “The Kid really didn’t introduce us earlier. I’m John. The captain is Lui. There’s no one else aboard.”  
“Is two really sensible?” Sam frowned, “For a ship of this size?”  
“On a milk-run?” John grinned, “Procedure is for three. The Kid counts.”  
“I’m Daniel.” Daniel smiled, “This is Jack, Sam and Teal’c.”  
“Nice to meet you… Do I _want_ to know how you met the Kid?”  
“Probably not.” Jack replied, “It involved guns, bombs, explosions and him invading our base. Also a small round of kidnapping and hostage negotiations.”  
“Bit more violent than his usual.” John shrugged, “But hardly surprising. He’s a scrapper.”  
“What kind of business do you do?” Daniel asked, looking around, “Your ship’s not the newest… No offence meant.”  
“None taken,” John laughed, “We take pride in the fact that she’s an old one. The manufacturers expected her to die on us years ago. But she’s still running. Sweeter than the day she rolled of the line.”  
“How?” Sam stared.  
“We’re Sweepers, miss,” John replied, “Ain’t nothing a Sweeper can’t fix.”  
“What are Sweepers?” Jack pressed, “Duo bandies the word around. You wave it as a banner. Even the Preventors mentioned that Duo was ‘Sweeper trained’.”  
“Sweepers are Sweepers.” John shrugged, “Course you wouldn’t know what that meant… but most people don’t either. We’re pretty much invisible. People know about Sweepers, but it ain’t talk for polite conversation. I think the old term was Salvage.”  
“You deal with wreaks?” Jack thought he understood.  
“Pretty much, yeah.” John smiled, “If it’s broken, we fix it. If we can’t fix it, we use it for parts. If we can’t use it for parts, we break it down, and send it to be recycled.”  
“What’s your jurisdiction?” Sam queried, “I mean there are others, right?”  
“Lady,” John smirked, “Land, sea or space, it’s ours. It’s Sweeper.”  
“You have a monopoly?” Sam blinked, “Isn’t that unethical?”  
“No one else wants the job, Lady,” John retorted, “Sweepers started out in space, about five years after the first colony. Just a small group then. But we grew. It’s better to be a Sweeper than to try and go solo. We don’t cheat people. We don’t drive prices up. Against the Code.”  
“And…” Daniel frowned, “What’s the Code?”  
“A lot of rules and stuff,” John replied calmly, “Too long to go through. But basically… Sweepers look after our own. Once a Sweeper, always a Sweeper. Nothing is trash. We are not noticed. We are invisible. We do our jobs. Sweepers are not seen. Sweepers are not heard. People look down on us. But we are not lesser. We can go where no one else goes. Because who bothers a Sweeper?”  
“What training do you need?” Jack was curious.  
“All on the job.” John answered, “Me, I’m an L3 street rat. When I joined the Sweepers, I could barely read. Now… I have qualifications. I’ve got my Vacuum licence, and my Atmo licence. I’ve got a Welder’s Licence. I can pretty much fix most basic things that could go wrong on a shuttle, and jury-rig everything else. I know two languages other than Common. And working on a third… That’s in six years.”  
“You get an education.” Daniel realized.  
“Yeah,” John agreed, “Sweepers educate the kids, so that when their contract is up they don’t go back to the streets. Me… I’m going to be a pilot.”  
“Vacuum licence?” Sam blinked, rounding on the thing that puzzled her.  
“That’s what we call it,” John shrugged, “Officially it’s called Spacer’s Shuttle Pilot Licence. The right to pilot a shuttle in space. Atmosphere for on the Earth. I’m working on my Trans licence. Or in layman terms the licence to pilot a shuttle from Earth to Space and from Space to Earth. Once I get that, I can apply for a pilot’s job, as soon as my contract is up. I won’t get to be anything other than a trucker pilot for a while. But if I prove myself at that, I’ll get to do commercial people. Then, if I’m lucky I might get to do private.”  
“You want to be a shuttle pilot?” Jack stared, “Not a mechanic?”  
“Sweepers don’t just make mechanics,” John retorted, “Sure, every Sweeper can fix things. To a certain degree. But some don’t lean that way. I can plot courses, calculate fuel consumption, and do all the stuff a pilot needs to do. Some Sweepers are pilots, some are doctors, some are mechanics, some are just plain grunts. But we’re all Sweepers. Every junkyard in the Sphere is run by a retired Sweeper.

“We’re looked down on, sure. But we don’t need other people to acknowledge us. There are Sweeper families. Children raised wanting to be Sweepers. Mainly middle-class and working-class families. But one or two upper-class families as well, those who did really well for themselves after their contract was up. A fair proportion of Sweepers are street kids, from every cluster, every colony, every country. For most of them, it’s the only escape from the streets they’ll ever get. They’re only taken on if they’re clean. We don’t do drugs. But if a kid really wants to get off drugs, we’ll help.

“When you join the Sweepers, you’re in for life. But the most important thing for street kids… is that they feel like they belong. Medical care, shelter, clothes, food and education are secondary to them. Street kids want a gang. Because they want the protection it affords.”  
“Is that how Duo got in?” Jack pressed.  
“The Kid?” John laughed, “He’s a special case. You don’t join the Sweepers until you’re sixteen. Insurance issues. A street kid joins, we check that they’re about sixteen, then fudge the records. They don’t know their dates of birth, so we ain’t doing any real harm. The Kid joined the Sweepers years ago. He’s the youngest Sweeper ever.”  
“But…”Jack frowned.  
“We only made him a Sweeper,” John explained, “Because he stowed away. He broke through loads of security precautions, and hid in the pantry on one of the big shuttles. The Kid was nibbling away when we found him. He impressed Howard. The leader of the Sweepers. He got made a Sweeper. It’s hard to crack Sweeper security. But the Kid did it. He’s a street-rat… and an L2 one at that… but he’s Sweeper. Hell, the Kid was only thirteen back then. I wasn’t there… but the rumour ran wild. He’s a better Sweeper than most. He flies better than the best pilots. Fixes stuff better than the best mechanics. Sure, most people wouldn’t trust him; he’s an L2 street-rat after all. But we’ve got a few L2 street-rats among us. Not that many… most don’t make it to sixteen. The Kid got out quick enough.”  
“You’re saying L2’s gotten worse?” Daniel stared.  
“No way!” John fired back instantly, “L2’s gotten a lot better since the war. Used to be you couldn’t go into the slums and come out alive. Now you stand a chance.”  
“What’s your opinion of Duo?” Sam asked.  
“The Kid?” John laughed, “He’s sharp. I mean, real sharp. You guys don’t get it… Before he snuck aboard a Sweeper ship, he’d had one year of education. No more. He could read, write, do basic maths… Not much more. Two years later, he’s better than people trained for most of their lives. He’s a genius. I heard a rumour that Howard’s put him down as his successor.”  
“And that’s big?” Jack frowned.  
“Real big,” John nodded, “You guys don’t understand… Sweepers are a family business. Howard’s the direct descendent of the first Sweeper. When we say ‘The Sweeper’, we mean Howard. ‘The First Sweeper’ means the founder. Duo’s flagged as the next ‘Sweeper’. Our leader.”  
“That’s a big job for such a little kid.” Jack pointed out.  
“Small package, yeah.” John shrugged, “But there’s nothing little about the Kid. If it weren’t for G tapping him… He’d never have joined the war as a soldier. Howard wanted to adopt him. But even then, I’m told that the Kid was dangerous. Called himself ‘The God of Death’ right off the bat. Kicked and fought, ‘cos he got dragged out of the food locker. He’s big. Every Sweeper knows about the Kid. Every Sweeper respects the Kid.”  
“But you call him the Kid,” Daniel cocked his head to one side, “Not Duo?”  
“He’s a street kid,” John retorted, “G called him Boy. Howard calls him Kid. Always has done. I got my name from my mother. I was five when I ended up on the streets. Still don’t know my last name. The Kid? He was younger. Don’t think he even knows his real name.”  
“So his name…?” Sam breathed.  
“Don’t know where he found it.” John stated, “But it’s his. But we’ll still call him Kid.”

There was a loud bang, which cut off further conversation.  
“What was that?” Daniel’s eyebrows were raised in fright.  
“Don’t know.” John replied, “Lui?”  
“Not sure. Checking everything.” The pilot yelled back.  
“You do that!” Duo declared.


	8. Chapter 8

Moments later there was no need to check. Duo sighed as he floated out of his seat, succumbing to the zero gravity.  
“Gravity’s out!” he yelled, his words intelligible to SG1.  
“We sort of noticed!” the remark was fired back, by John as he and SG1 started to rise from the floor.  
“So fix it!” Lui retorted, even as John retreated to the cockpit, murmuring something about keeping the shuttle on track.  
“All right, all right!” Duo mock groused.

SG1 frowned in confusion as the strange language flowed off Duo’s tongue. They watched as Duo moved gracefully through the air, his braid trailing like a tail behind him. Curious they moved to follow him.

Duo was obviously used to low or zero gravity, judging by how he moved quickly through the corridors; he only used the barest minimum of energy to propel himself. He dodged past small floating objects, knowing full well that all the sharp and dangerous objects were strapped or bolted down. SG1 followed more slowly, occasionally having to compensate for an overenthusiastic movement.

Once in the engine room, Duo floated in front of a panel.  
“Watch yourselves.” Duo called back to SG1. “It’s a little tight in here. And I’ll need to move around.”  
“You’re pretty comfortable with this ship aren’t you?” Jack smiled, holding his position by using a bar.  
“I know a lot about ships.” Duo shrugged, “Spent quite a few years on them. I know how to fix them. This thing? I helped install the new gravity system about two years back.”  
“Then why is it broken already?” Sam frowned, “I mean it’s only two years old.”  
“Two years in _this_ ship.” Duo laughed, “It’s recycled. We had to tweak it to work on this ship at all. It’s actually meant for a much smaller ship.”  
“Doesn’t sound too hard.” Jack laughed.  
“Too hard?” Duo stared at Jack for a moment, “I had to adjust the power-intake… It’s used to a much smaller power supply. Then I had to increase the range… Take into account the extra space of the ship… Yet configure it to the _shape_ of the ship, so that it doesn’t affect _outside_ the ship… Which would cause a reduction in efficiency… You don’t just cut and paste ship components. Everything has to be carefully adjusted to work together. You don’t take risks. Risks mean Lives.”  
“And Sweepers don’t risk lives.” Lui chimed in from the doorway, “No external damage. We’re still on course.”  
“Hey, Lui?” Duo chirped.  
“Yeah, Kid?”  
“You mind taking them out of here? This looks like a long fix. Show ‘em the view or something?”  
“You sure you don’t need a hand?”  
“One person job. More than that won’t fit. Just go. I’ll be fine.”

Jack noticed Daniel’s frown as SG1 followed John back through the corridors.  
“Daniel?” Jack asked.  
“I’ve never heard that language before.” Daniel blinked, “The one they were shouting in. It has some Latin roots, but also some Asian. I don’t know.”  
“Why don’t you just ask?” Jack shrugged.  
“What was that language you were speaking earlier?” Daniel asked.  
“Huh?” Lui frowned, “Oh, you mean Sweeper!”  
“Sweeper?” Daniel smiled, “Named after the job or was the job named after it?”  
“The job came first. You see the first Sweepers all spoke different languages. So they mashed them all together and came up with Sweeper.”  
“What’s the written form like?” Daniel pressed.  
“It doesn’t have one.” Lui grinned, “It’s only ever spoken.”  
“A purely oral language?” Daniel breathed in wonder, “In such advanced times?”  
“Well yeah,” Lui shrugged, “All the technical reports we have to write, need to be in Common, before we can sell the parts. It’s the Law. So we write in Common, but speak Sweeper.”

Daniel started to try and pull more details out of Lui.

After a while Jack got bored. He floated back to where Duo was still working on the engine. Duo wasn’t too hard to spot. His legs stuck out from underneath part of the machine.  
“Hey.” Jack pulled on one of Duo’s legs, “I want to ask you something.”  
“Yeah?” Duo slid out from underneath.

Jack had to stifle a laugh. Duo had oil and grease splattering his face, with a prominent streak across his forehead where he had obviously tried to wipe it off… Or perhaps wipe sweat away. Sweat and oil slicked his bangs away from his face. Much to Jack’s surprise, though Duo guarded his hair fiercely, he had not protected it while he had been working.

Duo was lying on a floating board, which looked almost like the skateboard-thing that car mechanics use, but it didn’t have any wheels. He propped himself up on his arms. A strap running over his waist, securing him to the board.

“What do you want to know?”  
“What you said earlier, about Relena and your education,” Jack murmured, “That’s not just it, is it, Kid?”  
“There are five of us that are close to Heero…” Duo breathed, “Five of us that are important to him. Wufei, Quatre, Trowa, Relena and myself. Of those five, Fei’s always been a bit of a loner. Trowa and Quatre often pair up together. I’m the closest to Heero… You know about her little crush?”  
“Quatre told us.”  
“Well, Relena has this weird idea that I’m blocking her relationship with Heero… Seeing as I’m Heero’s usual preferred partner on difficult assignments, and thus his best friend.”  
“I follow.” Jack nodded, “Are you?”  
“Heero’s best friend?… Probably… Blocking Relena?… Not intentionally… But that girl is fixated with seeing miniature versions of Heero with blond hair running around in pink outfits.”  
“What?” Jack paused for a moment, “She wants kids already?”  
“Personally I can’t see it,” Duo shrugged, “Mini-Heero’s wearing _pink?_ Sign of the _Apocalypse!_ I’d hope they’d have better taste than that… Anyway, Relena seems to think that if I go and study somewhere, I’d be out the way. I’d drift apart from Heero. She would be the closest person to Heero… And True Love would blossom.”  
“Is she crazy?” Jack frowned.  
“Delusional, maybe.” Duo shrugged, “But only about that one thing. She’s an incredible politician… She wants to change the world. And she’s _doing_ it… She just read too many fairy stories as a kid. Heero’s her knight in Gundanium Armour… You know, the first time we met, I may have saved her life… Yet somehow I became the bad guy. And I’m still not sure how… But anyway, she’s a good person. And yeah, she gets on my nerves… But I’d protect her with my life. She’s my friend.”  
“Pretty strange relationship you’ve got there, kid.”  
“It works.” Duo grinned, sliding back under the machinery, “Could say the same about you.”  
“What do you mean?” Jack’s voice got slightly cold.  
“You’ve got the hots for Sam.” Duo’s voice drifted out, “A _blind_ man could see that. Let me guess… Regulations?”  
“Yeah.” Jack was holding himself in place with the bar he’d used earlier, “I’m her Commanding Officer.”  
“Regulations suck.” Duo declared, “Hang on.” He emerged and yelled, “Gravity on! In three! Two! One! Contact!”

Jack felt the gravity slowly come up to full strength as he drifted down to the floor.

“Nice.” He muttered, “I’m going to need to put this in the ‘Technology-We-Want’ pile. NASA will go _nuts_ over it.”  
“It comes in handy.” Duo shrugged, “But I hardly see why they’d go nuts over it.”  
“You lose bone density in zero gravity.” Jack pointed out, “It restricts how long our astronauts can stay in space. This would increase it.”  
“You don’t need a gravity field.” Duo shrugged, “Astro-Cal works fine. You just pop a pill and bone loss is reduced by over ninety percent. No matter _what_ gravity you’re in. Most Spacers usually only have about a quarter of normal gravity in their ships.”  
“Oka-ay!” Jack breathed, “NASA is going to _love_ this planet.”  
“Who’s NASA?” Duo cocked his head.  
“An organisation that’s going to want to be your newest best friend.” Jack laughed, “They do space exploration. We haven’t told them that we’ve beaten them, yet.”  
“You ought to.” Duo declared, sliding back under the machine, “Sorry about this. But now it’s fixed I need to make sure it _stays_ that way… Or my reputation will suffer.”  
“You got a reputation for something _other_ than being a smart mouth?” Jack teased.  
“Yeah.” Duo’s voice retorted, “What about you?”  
“I’ve got a reputation for giving the General an ulcer, and making him eat antacids by the handful.”  
“Ni-ice!” Duo nodded, “I can appreciate a good trouble maker. We should team up some time.”  
“Your brains and my good looks?” Jack laughed, “We’d be unstoppable.”  
“What good looks?” Duo mocked good-naturedly.

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“Okay,” Duo turned to face SG1, “This is L4. Now do you want to visit the tourist sights, or the _real_ L4?”  
“Can we mix-and-match?” Sam asked.  
“Sure! We’ll do some of the sights first. Then hit the Hidden Artist’s Bazaar. I have a few things to pick up from there anyway.”  
“Do you come here a lot?” Daniel queried.  
“It’s one of my more regular stops,” Duo shrugged, “It’s a financial centre, so there’s always stuff going in and out. It’s a good run actually. I can usually do about five deliveries in one trip. And if I get too run down I can always crash at Cat’s place… Even if he isn’t there.”  
“He gave you a key, huh?” Jack laughed.  
“…Yeah,” Duo answered after a pause, “Place is a bit fancy for me. But Cat’s been brought up that way.”  
“And you weren’t?” Sam questioned softly.  
“What do you want to hit first?” Duo side-stepped the question, “The landmarks or the museum.”  
“The landmarks.” Jack got in before Daniel, “Or we’ll never set foot outside the museum.”  
“Sure,” Duo grinned, “Quick trip around the landmarks, then three hours in the museum, then lunch, then the _real_ L4.”

The sights were pretty standard in Jack’s opinion. A fountain. A statue. A big building… Sights were pretty much the same no matter where you were. And no matter how much Daniel dissected them from an anthropological standpoint. To Jack they all meant the same thing: ‘I was here’.

123456789

Daniel stared as Duo led SG1 towards a large imposing building.

“Daniel, you’re drooling.” Jack teased.  
“I just brought him to historical paradise, didn’t I?” Duo sighed.  
“Yeah, you did kid.” Jack nodded.  
“Would this be bad time to point out that this is the colony’s only museum?” Duo asked, “It also contains the science stuff.”  
“Yeah, kinda, kid.” Jack watched as Sam’s eyes lit up with glee.  
“I’ll get us some group locator bands.” Duo announced, “Then we can split up and still find them later.”  
“Good idea.” Jack agreed, “We’ll let Daniel and Sam run around like kids on a sugar high, while we move at a more sedate pace.”  
“Indeed.” Teal’c nodded slightly.  
“Hey!” Daniel yelled.  
“Sir!” Sam retorted at the same time.  
“What?” Jack shrugged, “It’s _true!”_

And it was. The second Duo had slapped locator bands on everyone, Daniel and Sam were gone. Splitting up and delving into the depths of the museum. Each intent on their specialist topic.

“So what do you wanna see?” Duo asked.  
“What’s good?” Jack retorted.  
“Don’t know.” Duo shrugged, “I’m not a museum kinda guy. You want Cat or Fei for that.”  
“We have seen your weapons,” Teal’c came in, “Could we not see your culture?”  
“Depends which part you wanna see.” Duo replied, “L4 is mainly Cat’s culture. The Maganac’s. The Desert. It’s interesting. Just… Not _my_ culture.”  
“What is your culture?” Jack frowned.  
“Mix everything together, add a few original things and serve.” Duo grinned.  
“Sweeper?” Jack pressed.  
“L2.” Duo corrected, “We’re a real mix. All the people no one else wanted. All the people trying to escape. All the people looking for streets of gold. Once you get there though… You can’t get off. And your kids can’t either. L2’s a black hole. It sucks you in and swallows you up.”  
“Incorrect,” Teal’c looked down at the boy, “You escaped.”  
“Yeah, well,” Duo grinned, “I’m special like that… None of the others did.” The last sentence was whispered.  
“The others?” Jack murmured.  
“The other Rats.” Duo’s reply was almost inaudible, “And anyway… Cultures live. You don’t pin them on a wall. That’s just history.”  
“Cultures like the Sweepers?” Jack allowed the topic to be changed. He knew a conversation pivot when he heard one, “You know Daniel’s going to go _mad_ trying to learn the language.”  
“He won’t manage it.” Duo replied.  
“DanielJackson is unparalleled in his knowledge of languages,” Teal’c defended Daniel, “He has an incredible capacity to learn them.”  
“Yeah,” Duo shrugged, “But he doesn’t have the right education.”  
“Huh?” Jack frowned.  
“Half of Sweeper is technical terms.” Duo pointed out, “Of what’s left, half are swear words. That doesn’t leave much language.”  
“Technical terms?” Jack was surprised.  
“Yeah. It’s our trade. Our livelihood.” Duo grinned, “You can’t learn Sweeper unless you learn engineering. We apply engineering terms to our slang. You’re not good… You’re shiny. Most of the rest is incomprehensible to an outsider.”  
“So how do your new guys learn?” Jack asked.  
“We teach them the engineering at the same time.” Duo smirked.

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“Time for lunch.” Duo announced, several hours later, after looking around at various paintings and statues.  
“Let me guess,” Jack looked at Duo, “You got food tucked away in that bag of yours?”  
“Nah,” Duo shook his head, “I know a place.”  
“Do you know where _everything_ is?” Jack frowned.  
“Near enough,” Duo shrugged, “Old habit from the war. I like to know where things are.”  
“Well,” Jack accepted the comment, “We need to fetch Daniel and Sam.”  
“Daniel’s closer.” Duo declared looking down at the central device for the locater bands, “We’ll grab him, then Sam.”  
“You think you can pull Daniel out of here?” Jack snorted, “To say nothing of Carter.”  
“If they want to see the living culture, yes.” Duo grinned.

Daniel was studying a series of hieroglyphics on a couple of stone slabs when the found him.  
“This translation is remarkably well done.” Daniel stated in reply to Jack’s greeting.  
“Oh,” Duo peered over Daniel’s shoulder, “It’s one of Ramses’. It would be.”  
“Ramses?" Daniel looked at Duo, “He’s a scholar?”  
“For goodness sake, don’t introduce them.” Jack ordered, “Hieroglyphics are Daniel’s favourite. We’d never separate them.”  
“I couldn’t even if I wanted to.” Duo shrugged, “Ramses was the son of the father of proper archaeology, the Abu Shitaim. His mother was Sitt Hakim. He was known as Akhu el-Efreet.”  
“The Father of Curses,” Daniel translated quickly, “The Lady Doctor and the Brother of Demons?”  
“That’s right.” Duo was subtly heading toward the exit of the room.  
“Powerful names.” Jack noted.  
“I like stories about them.” Duo replied, “They lived centuries ago. But Ramses’ mother, Amelia Peabody Emerson was keen diary writer. Some of the records survive to this day.”  
“Why were they called those titles?” Daniel asked, keeping pace with Duo as he walked to where Sam was.  
“The way I was told,” Duo stated, “Peabody was a foreigner to the desert. But she was an intelligent woman, and brought a medical kit. She had enough understanding to treat the locals. Who, at the time, were not highly educated, if educated at _all._ Emerson made loud threats and curses, using both his native tongue and the desert’s language. It’s said he never used the same curse twice. Ramses was highly intelligent, very cunning and was able to ferret out secrets without being spotted. The locals believed Demons told him things. Hey, Sam!”  
“What are you doing here?” Sam jumped.  
“We’re going to lunch.” Jack replied, “You’re coming, Carter.”  
“But, sir!” Sam protested, “I was going to look at the Oxygen Plant next… If I can understand it, we will be able to improve Prometheus’ oxygen supply. Which, as you, know is the main limiting factor at the moment.”  
“It’s pretty simple,” Duo shrugged, “Won’t take but a minute.”  
“It might be simple to you,” Jack countered, “You’ve grown up with it. It’s probably more complicated than you think.”  
“Trust me.” Duo grinned.  
“They’ve got working model, in the next room.” Sam pointed.  
“After you, my Lady.” Duo almost folded himself in half, motioning Sam to go ahead.

SG1 entered the room. Sam stopping in the doorway in shock. Duo sidestepped around, having seemingly anticipated the action.

“Where is it?” Sam demanded of the braided boy. “What happened to it?”  
“It’s right there.” Duo pointed.  
“That’s a plant!” Sam exclaimed.  
“Exactly,” Duo smirked, “The Oxygen Plant. Best oxygen producing technology around. What were you expecting?”  
“Technology!” Sam retorted, “Machines. Electronics… Not… Not _Biology!”_  
“We do have Carbon Cleansers.” Duo shrugged, “But you need to replace them every month and need one for every five people. That’d be _stupid_ on a colony, and even the above average ships. Shuttles, smaller ships, Suits rely on Carbon Cleansers. The larger ships have the Oxygen Plant and some Carbon Cleansers for emergencies.”

Once again Duo lured his victim out of the room with his voice alone. Much to Jack’s amusement, and possibly Teal’c’s, but Jack couldn’t be sure.

“Of course Carbon Cleansers are recyclable.” Duo continued, “You can refresh one in about an hour. But you need clean air and certain facilities… Equipment. It’s easy enough if you know how. But most don’t. It’s left up to the Spacers and the Dockers. The Oxygen Plant never needs maintenance. It works! Why mess with something that works? If technology can’t beat nature… We use nature. Technology’s great… But sometimes Nature’s smarter.”

Duo had managed to talk Sam out of the museum and halfway down the block before she realized.

“Where are we going?” Sam protested.  
“Little shawarma shop round the corner.” Duo grinned, “Does the _best_ shawarmas in Space. We go grab one each… Maybe two, and head on down to the real L4.”  
“Take-away lunch?” Daniel smiled, “Sounds good.”  
“Take-away…” Duo rolled the word around in his mouth, “We call it a grab-and-go.”

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The shawarmas were quickly eaten, as Duo led them through a maze of back-street; Duo sucking his fingers clean of the meat juices that had run down them.

“Welcome to the Hidden Artists’ Bazaar.” Duo announced as he emerged from the alley.

SG1 stared around in shock. It was a scene almost stolen from old Arabian stories. Spices could be smelt on the air. A folk band’s musical offering enticed and entranced the casual listener. Belly dancers danced on a stage. Wooden and fabric stalls were manned by traditionally dressed Arabians selling a wide variety of things from silks to wooden carving to knives to books.

“This is…” Daniel was turning around, trying to get a good look at everything.  
“The _real_ L4.” Duo grinned, “Not many people know about it… Until _I_ told Cattie, _he_ didn’t. This is where the normal people come. Not the rich folk.”  
“Quatre didn’t know?” Sam stared.  
“He’s rich folk.” Duo laughed, “His dad didn’t let him mix with the normal people. So he never got told. Cat was apparently a real different person before he met the Maganacs. All stuck up.”  
“I can’t imagine that.” Jack declared.

Duo meandered up to a jewellery store.  
“Ah! Duo!” The jeweller looked at Duo through his eye glass, still holding the diamond he had been studying, “You’re here for it?”  
“You said it was done.” Duo pressed, looking slightly like a guilty schoolboy.  
“So it is.” A jewellery case was placed on the counter.

Duo opened it quickly. A brief glance at the item, and he quirked a grin.  
“Thanks.” Duo snapped it shut, “Just in time, too. I’ll need it next week.”  
“I hope she likes it, boy.”  
“So, do I.” Duo laughed, “Most of the women I know are so much easier to buy for.”  
“You in love with this one?” The stall owner frowned, as if about to reprimand Duo.  
“No!” Duo waved the remark away, “I just don’t understand her most of the time. And she doesn’t like the same sort of stuff as me.”  
“And yet you are friends.” The stall owner remarked.  
“Yeah.” Duo nodded, “Do I owe you anything?”  
“You paid up front. And I didn’t exceed what you paid.”  
“Excellent.” Duo smacked his hands together and rubbed them. The case tucked under one arm.

Jack nearly lost it.

Duo started to wander away from the stall, unslinging his backpack to tuck the case inside.  
“May I see?” Daniel held out a hand for the case.  
“Sure.” Duo grinned happily, handing it over.

Daniel opened the case. A beautiful necklace sat inside. A heart-shaped sapphire was held by a silver hand and a gold hand, one on each side. The arms of the hands spiralled up the silver chain, thinning as they went, before merging with the chain, about half the way up. A crown was perched on the heart, silver with fine gold filament providing tiny details.

“A Claddagh necklace.” Jack breathed, peering over Daniel’s shoulder.  
“A what?” Duo looked up at Jack in confusion, from where he was perusing an antique book stall.  
“Who is it for, Duo?” Teal’c asked.  
“Relena.” Duo grinned, “You like it? I’m never sure what to get her. She has very refined tastes compared to me. Expensive tastes.”  
“It is a fine piece,” Teal’c nodded, “She would be foolish to consider it otherwise.”  
“It’s exquisite.” Sam breathed, “Absolutely _gorgeous._ Must have cost you a _fortune!”_  
“Not as much as you might think.” Duo grinned, “I found the stone, during the War. I think I was hiding in an abandoned mine. I just picked it up because it was shiny. And the chain only _looks_ like silver. It’s actually an alloy… With no silver in it at all… Much cheaper. But virtually visually indistinguishable… Don’t tell her.”  
“The symbol… What does it mean to you?” Jack pressed.  
“Oh,” Duo shrugged, “I made it up. The heart is for the love and care Relena extends to the Sphere. The Crown is because I’ll always call her Princess. The Gold Hand is the Earth. This Silver Hand is the Colonies. She united the two into the Sphere with her words and love… Or at least that’s how the Sphere sees it. The Gundams ended the War. But only Wars _start_ with violence. Words have to be used to bring Peace.”  
“You’re a philosopher.” Daniel smirked.  
“No. I’m just a soldier,” Duo replied, “A terrorist, if you ask me… But I’m always called a soldier… I’m sending the necklace to Relena, for her birthday. The rich folk won’t know who it came from. But she will.”  
“How?” Jack frowned.  
“The stone’s the same colour as the dress she wore the first time we met.” Duo smiled, “I remember it, because she tore it up for bandages. And the card to go with the package will have the inscription: ‘From hell to heaven’. She’ll understand.”  
“Why all the secrecy?” Sam was confused.  
“Like I said,” Duo shrugged, “The rich folk don’t like me. And Relena don’t let on that she does. We’re friends when the rich folk aren’t around. And if I give her the gift _this_ way, I can laugh at the fact that they’ll all be jealous about a gift a gutter-snipe gave her. Why were you so curious about the symbols?”  
“My grandparents each had a ring with a similar symbol on it.” Jack replied, “It was part of their culture. Grandpa taught me the rhyme to understand the symbol:

“‘The Hands are there for friendship,  
The Heart is there for love,  
For loyalty throughout the years  
The Crown is raised above.’”

Jack recited.

“Cool,” Duo grinned, “We don’t have anything like that… Not that I know of. Now, I need to get the _important_ stuff.”

Before Jack could say anything else, Duo was off again. He was obviously aiming at a certain stall.

“Hey.” Duo chirped the stall owner.  
“Shin!” The man rose to bash knuckles with Duo, “I take it you’ve come to see if…”  
“Are they ready?” Duo interrupted, starting to bounce on his toes slightly.  
“Yes. I’ll just get them for you.”

SG1 watched in amusement as Duo continued to bounce in eager anticipation, his hands clasped behind his back.

The man laid a box down on the stall table. He flipped open the catches and turned the box to face Duo before he opened it.

“Beautiful.” Duo murmured, running his fingers over the two pieces of metal in the case, “May I?”  
“Go ahead.”

Duo removed both from the case, turning them this way and that as he admired the craftsmanship. Then with a sharp flick of his wrists he snapped open the weapons.

“Tessen.” Daniel was surprised.  
“What?” Duo blinked, “Battle-fans, Danny-boy. Excellent work, as usual, Ishmael.”  
“It was fine metal to start with.” The weapon maker replied, “And your design is beautiful in its simplicity… Very elegant.”  
“Perfectly balanced,” Duo replied, “Not my skill. Perfect weapons for a classy lady.”  
“I didn’t _think_ they were for you. May I trust that the lady has taste?”  
“Sally _always_ has taste,” Duo retorted, “Here, Sam. How’s the balance for you?”

Sam accepted the weapons carefully admiring the silver of the brushed metal and the light blue of the arch.  
“I’ve never used such things before,” Sam shrugged, “But they are quite light and of equal weight. I would say a perfect matched pair.”  
“Of course,” Duo grinned, “Ishmael is the _best_ weapon-smith around.”  
“As long as you desire elegant weapons from a more civilized age,” Ishmael demurred, “None of these fancy guns and the like. Blades are my strength.”  
“They are beautiful.” Daniel carefully took one from Sam, “I would say exquisite.”  
“Shin,” Ishmael grinned, “I assumed that you would be giving these beauties away, so…”

A second case was placed next to the first. Inside were a second pair of battle-fans. This time made of matt black metal.

Almost in awe, Duo removed them and quickly snapped them open.  
“You didn’t have to…” Duo started.  
“Shin,” Ishmael cut him off, “I _hate_ to think about the amount of research, time and patience you put into designing the lady’s pair. It only seemed fair that you have a pair of your own. You provided me with enough metal for six pairs.”  
“What’s the price?” Duo asked.  
“Price and a half.”  
“Oh, come on!” Duo protested, “It’s twice the work… Double, at _least!”_  
“Price and a half.”  
“Double.”  
“Price.”  
“You can’t _do_ that!” Duo exclaimed.  
“It’s my right to charge what I will.” Ishmael smirked.  
“Fine! Price and a half, it is.” Duo surrendered, “I don’t know how you make a living, Ishmael.”  
“I charge the stupidly and terminally ignorant three times what I charge those who can truly appreciate what I produce.”  
“Duo,” Teal’c spoke up, “I fail to see how these fans can be considered weapons.”  
“Blasphemy!” Ishmael exclaimed.  
“Lay off the guy, Ishmael.” Duo held up his hands in what would have been a placating manner, had the fans not still been in them, “He just ain’t seen them in action that’s all. He don’t understand non-conventional weapons… Ya think Mina’ll let me use the Dancing Square?”  
“I’m sure she will.” Ishmael grinned, “Mina! Get your musicians off the stage! Shin wants to dance.”

There were a couple of quick cries and the musicians started to pack up their instruments in an eager fashion. Sam got the impression that they were eagerly anticipating something.

“Bren!” Duo called out as he approached the stage, “Can I use the Dancing Dagger’s box?”  
“What you need Duo?” A woman called out.  
“A pair of fighting fans and a staff for the big guy.” Duo declared, “Care to spar, Teal’c?”  
“I fear my skills far outmatch your own.” Teal’c stated softly.  
“I’m tougher than I look.” Duo retorted, “And you’ll never respect the fans ‘less you face them yourself. I’m not the best with them… But I know how to use them.”

Bren first tossed the staff, which Teal’c easily caught, then the fans, Duo catching them.

“After you.” Duo bowed motioning Teal’c to the staging. A small crowd had gathered around the area. Jack, Sam and Daniel stuck close together, but could see that spars seemed to be common entertainment in the bazaar.

“Dancing with daggers is common in many Middle Eastern cultures,” Daniel stated, “Often performed at weddings. A woman who dances with a sword on her head is said to carry the honour of her husband. And is thus untouchable by other men.”  
“I don’t think they do _that_ kind of Dagger Dancing around here, Daniel.” Jack countered, as he got a good look at the box. It was more like a very large chest; taller than Teal’c and large enough to fit three of the Jaffa into it. The entire thing was filled with weapons ranging from small to large.


	9. Chapter 9

Teal’c faced Duo in the Dancing Square. The Jaffa had no intention of causing any permanent harm to the teenager. He decided to take it easy, not using his full speed, strength or skill in the first few attempts. His aim was to harm Duo’s pride more than the boy’s body.

Teal’c was only using one hand to control the staff, keeping his left arm firmly placed behind his back.

Duo, in return, flowed like water under the blows, occasionally using a folded fan to block a staff strike.

Duo narrowed his eyes slightly in anger. He closed on Teal’c, moving inside his guard. The fans snapped open and one was jabbed into Teal’c’s upper leg, while the other caught the Jaffa under the jaw.

Duo snapped the fans closed and retreated.  
“You’re dead.” He declared, “Living Battle-fans have blades on the spokes. I just got your femoral and carotid arteries… I’m not Heero… And I’m not a Master in battle-fans. But give me _some_ credit. Take me _seriously.”_

Teal’c shifted his weight and started to spar more earnestly. Duo had just proven himself worth sparing with.

Now that Teal’c had committed himself properly to the fight. The first few movements were cautious… Testing.

Much to SG1’s surprise, it was Teal’c who made the first true attack.

It was an over-arm strike, aimed at Duo’s right shoulder. Duo ducked slightly and blocked the blow with a folded fan.

Teal’c reversed the movement, causing the same end of the staff to circle him, building momentum, as it moved towards Duo’s left leg.

Again Duo blocked the blow. Jumping backwards a little to bleed off some of the momentum.

Teal’c’s third strike came after a short period of the two circling each other with quick feints of their weapons.

Teal’c slid the staff forward in a thrust, aimed at Duo’s torso.

There was a loud snap, which echoed around the market.

Then a quieter bang.

Duo had blocked the thrust with an open fan. The braided boy then almost rolled up the side of the staff, to strike at Teal’c neck with a closed fan. Teal’c leant back to avoid the blow. Turning and kicking as he did so, he struck out towards Duo’s back. Duo, however had bent and almost thrown himself to the ground. He rolled over, so that he lay on his back, and spun, using his legs to foul with Teal’c’s.

Teal’c lost his grip on the staff. He rolled onto his back, and sprung quickly to his feet.

Duo had somehow managed to rotate onto his feet, without losing any momentum as he did so. His arms were out on each side of him, both fans open, providing a cutting edge as he spun. He was crouched down low, so Teal’c was in danger of Duo taking out his legs.

Teal’c backed away. He glanced down at the staff, which lay predominately in the area Duo had most recently claimed.

Duo was clearly spotting as he spun, using Teal’c as a point of reference.

“T’s still pulling his blows.” Jack noted.  
“But he’s using his full skill set.” Sam retorted.  
“And he says he’s _not_ an expert with those fans?” Daniel stared at the fight.  
“He’s not.” Bren declared from next to the group, “There are major flaws in his technique. And he is using moves from other styles… But that’s Duo’s way. He’s an ‘anything-goes’ guy. Makes him very dangerous. _Everything_ is a weapon to him.”  
“Where does the tradition of Dancing Daggers come from?” Daniel asked.  
“Mainly the desert cultures,” Bren replied, “It started off as dancing with daggers on the belt, so show that a man was a warrior and that a woman could protect herself. Then they used the weapon as a prop. Finally it became a spar. Used to determine which tribe, clan or family out of two, who were intermarrying, would be the superior. While the winner would be the higher ranked of the two, it was seen as bad luck for a death to occur at a wedding.

“Over time blunted daggers began to be more commonly used. And the champion fighter for each tribe, clan and family became known as a Dagger Dancer. Their job was not only to duel for their people, but to maintain the blunted daggers and train the next dancers.

“As cultures intermingled new weapons were added to the Dancer’s repertoire. And the Dancing Dagger’s Box was created.

“We’re now considered to be a strange mix between a martial artist and a performer. With a Dancing Dagger Master in all major cities and colonies. Along with several minor cities, towns and even some villages where the tradition began.”

“You told that rather freely.” Jack frowned.  
“A Dancing Dagger Master has several duties,” Bren shrugged, “To maintain their Dancing Chest. To supervise or arrange supervision for all sessions. To provide training. To keep the tradition alive. And to inform all people about the culture at every available opportunity.”

Teal’c feinted left before diving to the right, rolling to claim back his staff. Duo swiped at him, but Teal’c managed to pull back just in time, almost over balancing.

Duo tried to push his advantage with a kick. But Teal’c managed to block the kick using his staff, albeit a bit awkwardly from his twisted position.

“Do all Masters carry the same number of weapons that you do?” Daniel asked, staring at the veritable visible armoury strapped to Bren.  
“Roughly yes.” Bren replied, “As I said, a Dancing Dagger was the champion of their people. They wore their weapons to indicate their rank. Masters these days wear either the weapons or a symbol of the weapons that they have Mastered. Though we prefer the weapons. I _hate_ it when we have our yearly meeting. The shuttles won’t let me on with my weapons. I feel positively _naked_ without all of them.”  
“What about the trainees?” Daniel pressed, “Do they carry all their Mastered weapons?”  
“No,” Bren shook her head, “They are only allowed to carry a wave-knife and symbols of their weapons. Usually small jewellery charms are used. Different metals or colours used to symbolise skill with each individual weapon… The same for Dancers. Only Masters may carry the actual weapons.”

It was clear that Duo had a disadvantage. He had the shorter range of weapon. However in his favour he was very fast and manoeuvrable.

Having pulled back a bit, Duo charged towards his opponent. He slid gracefully from side to side, avoiding Teal’c’s staff as the Jaffa lashed out with swipes and thrusts.

Once within range, Duo attempted to drive a fan into Teal’c’s gut. But the staff blocked the potentially devastating blow.

Before Teal’c could counter-attack, Duo swept upwards with the other fan, aimed at Teal’c’s wrist… Or more specifically the arteries in it.

While he did that, he also dropped to the ground and attempted to sweep the Jaffa off his feet.

Teal’c merely twisted the staff, and managed to ward off both attacks with the same movement.

Then he launched a spinning kick at Duo’s head.

Duo ducked, before leaping backwards, and returning to the defensive.

“What’s Duo’s rank?” Jack asked.  
“Technically, an Apprentice. The Ranks go: Trainee, Apprentice, Dancer, Master. The top rank is the Master Dancer. But these days it’s rare for a Dancer to take an Apprentice, so it’s purely a title. Your fighter’s pretty good. Though I feel his style favours a weighted staff. He’s not used to something so light.”  
“That’s true enough.” Sam agreed, “You’re observant.”  
“I’m a Master.” Bren smiled, “I know how to notice flaws in a fighting style and how to assess an opponent. Victory can depend on the smallest thing.”  
“Very true.” Jack nodded.  
“How do you believe the spar will end?” Daniel queried.  
“I am not sure. Your fighter is quickly adapting to the unweighted staff… Clearly he has been well trained. However Duo is also adapting to the unusual style your fighter uses. Duo has an advantage in that he knows himself, while your fighter is having to adapt to both the staff and Duo’s style. But he adapts quickly… Once he has gotten used to either one, Duo will only be the victor if your fighter is taken by surprise. While Duo outpaces your fighter, he is outclassed by your fighter’s strength. Duo’s style is geared towards his speed and agility. Your fighter favours strength and precision. Duo will take any hit he can land. Even if it wasn’t the one he was trying for.”

Jack saw the blow Teal’c was aiming, before Duo did. He was more accustomed to Teal’c style, after all.

But Duo still noticed it and while he tried to dodge, the blow was too sudden for Duo to fully dodge or ward it off.

The tip of the staff caught him on his hip. The force knocked Duo to the ground. He rolled to avoid the follow-up blow.

The next blow Duo caught staff between the two fans, Duo in a kneeling position.

“I yield.” Duo announced clearly, “For now.”

Duo released the staff. He pulled back into a relaxed stance.

“Do you respect the Battle-Fans now?” Duo asked.  
“Indeed.” Teal’c nodded, “A formidable weapons for a close combatant.”  
_“And_ you can sneak them into formal events.” Duo grinned.  
“A well fought match.” Bren declared she stepped onto the stage. “Both of you have not disgraced your people. Warrior…”  
“Teal’c.” Duo supplied.  
“Teal’c,” Bren continued, “While you are not a Dagger Dancer, you conducted yourself well. I would be honoured to aid you in becoming a dancer, should you so wish. You need not decide now. Merely return at a later date. Apprentice Duo, while the Battle-Fans are not your strongest weapon, you have clearly increased your skill in them. I thus rank you as an Apprentice in Battle-Fans.”  
“What?” Duo exclaimed in shock and surprise, “But I’m not…”  
“I would ask you to adjust your weapon charm appropriately, but you do not hold it. Thus I shall inform Dancer Quatre.”  
“I don’t _have_ any…” Duo started to argue, then stopped, _“Quatre._ I should’ve known.”  
“You may leave the Dancing Square.” Bren dismissed them.

The pair returned the weapons to the box, before approaching the others.

“I misjudged you Duo.” Teal’c declared, “You are a worthy opponent.”  
“Thanks, big guy.” Duo grinned, “I can see why Hee wants another round with you. Oh… And thanks for pulling that last blow you got in. I think you would have broken my bones.”  
“That’s why we usually use more protection with fighting with Teal’c.” Jack grinned, “So what now?”  
“Well, Bren’s arranging a few more Dances.” Duo shrugged, glancing at the stage, “Seems Teal’c’s and mine was a great opening act. She’s pulling out some of the lesser known weaponry.”

A quick glance at the stage confirmed it. One of the Dancers held what looked like a pair of yo-yos, while the other held a pair of wooden sticks.  
“Tong Fa.” Daniels eyebrows rose, “A little unusual for a desert culture.”  
“I’m more curious about the yo-yos.” Sam countered, “Who knows, maybe the Colonel’s toys could be useful for once.”

Time flew by as SG1 watched fight after fight. Duo, on the other hand, visited a few stalls, before joining the crowd.

123456789

“Shoot!” Duo looked at his watch.  
“We miss our shuttle?” Sam panicked, her attention snapping to Duo away from the current dance between a pair of sai and a pair of nunchucks.  
“Not yet,” Duo replied, “But we will if we don’t hurry. Or… we could chill… Have a meal out… And I get us an alternative route home.”  
“Can you guarantee we’ll get back today?” Jack pressed.  
“One hundred percent.” Duo fired back, “Won’t be the prettiest of rides. But we’ll get back.”  
“We’ll wait.” Jack declared.  
“Let’s go get some food then.” Duo grinned.

The group turned to leave.

“Duo,” Bren caught the boy sleeve, “A warning for you to pass on to Dancer Quatre.”  
“Yes?” Duo frowned.  
“Master Bassam will be retiring soon. Dancer Quatre is currently the favourite to replace him.”  
“I’ll tell him.” Duo nodded, “My thanks, Master Brenda.”  
“May your blades be always sharp. And your skill be always sure.” Bren bowed slightly.  
“And may you be always able to uphold the honour that you have been charged with bearing.” Duo bowed back far more deeply. Almost formally, Daniel noted. The words themselves had clearly been formal. But both the tone and the bow had had that tiny bit of pure, unadulterated Duo that you couldn’t ever describe as respectful.  
“Get out of here, you brat!” Bren laughed.  
“See ya.” Duo almost danced away.  
“Where are we going?” Daniel asked.  
“To see a friend.” Duo replied, “He’ll feed us.”

123456789

Sam stared at the queue outside the clearly expensive and popular restaurant.  
“Duo,” She murmured, “We’ll _never_ get seats in there… We aren’t even dressed right.”  
“Sam… Sam… Sam…” Duo smirked, “Get out of the crab bucket… Those are the unwritten rules… And if they’re unwritten, you don’t need to obey them.”

Duo strode confidently forward to the front of the queue.  
“Hey,” He chirped to the doorman, “Is the boss in?”  
“Not to the likes of you.” The man sneered.  
“You’re new,” Duo grinned, “You’ll learn.”

With that Duo ducked past the doorman and dashed to the Maitre’d.  
“Hey ya!” Duo declared.  
“Duo!” The man was surprised, “He has been expecting you.”

A large man appeared almost directly behind Duo, cutting him off from SG1 who had slipped past the spluttering doorman to catch the braided boy.

“Jakeem!” Duo laughed, as he was swung around in a hug, “How’d you know I was coming?”  
“Heard you were in town.” Jakeem replied, “Where else would you come for supper?”  
“Spacers’ bar?” Duo retorted.  
“You need proper food.” Jakeem countered, “No, you come to _me!_ I’ll feed you properly.”  
“Of course you will,” Duo grinned, “Meet my friends. Jack, Sam, Daniel and Teal’c.”  
“Miguel, prepare the best table for our honoured guests,” Jakeem ordered, “I will bring you the choicest dishes. Sheep’s head. Goat’s bladder. Cow’s brain...”

Jack was trying hard to hide the disgust on his face. Sam was mentally sighing at the thought of yet another meal that she would only _pretend_ to eat. Daniel was getting curious. And Teal’c was simply stoic and silent.

Duo interrupted the description of dishes with simply a raised hand.

“Jakeem, what have I told you before?” Duo asked.  
“You don’t eat anything that can beat you in a staring competition.”  
“So?”  
“So I will bring you the _good_ stuff.” Jakeem grinned broadly, “Not the grot we give to the ignorant tourists. Stuff like mother used to make.”  
“Thanks,” Duo chirped, “Serve it hot and lots of it.”  
“Of course.” Jakeem nodded.  
“By the way,” Duo muttered, “Is the doorman new?”  
“Yes.” Jakeem frowned slightly, “He did not give you any trouble?”  
“Nothing I couldn’t handle.” Duo shrugged, “But I don’t think he’s studied the photographs yet. You might want to check up on that. He’s a good guy though.”

123456789

True to Jakeem’s word they were shown to the best table and food was soon served. It looked delicious and smelt heavenly… It also contained none of the items that Jakeem had boasted of earlier.

“Are the other colonies like this?” Daniel asked as they started to eat.  
“No,” Duo shook his head, “L1 and L4 are the richest colonies. L4 being just _slightly_ ahead. But L4 is old money. And the Desert culture. They’re all Desert traditional. They like to remember their heritage. But they don’t hang onto it if it’s inefficient. That’s the way they’ve always been.

“L1 is new money. All technology and electronics. They’ll go after the newest most exciting item. Rather than something proven and tested. L1 is all clean lines, metal and glass. Everything shiny and polished. Metal and glass and _proud_ of it. They’re mainly scientists and engineers. But very few biologists… About one in a hundred… Probably less.

“L5 is the most traditional of the colonies. Wood and paper buildings. They won’t change unless _forced_ to. I don’t really know much about their culture. Only from what I know of Fei. They’re very reserved. They don’t like outsiders interfering with them. Everything is very ritualised. I can’t get _near_ their culture.

“L3 is more normadic than anything else… Or at least as nomadic as you _can_ be on a colony. They founded the circus you saw. And they were the main source of mercenaries, before the Wars. L3 is the birth home of a _lot_ of Sweepers and Spacers. Don’t know what it is about the colony, but it just _breeds_ wanderers. The culture there is very relaxed. They’re very big on family. Both blood and spiritual family. They love there food. I _like_ L3. There’s an on-going joke there that if you share three meals in a week at a family home… You’re family… For life… I’ve never managed more than two.

“L2 is just a mismatch. It was where everyone went and took their own cultures. We lost the history behind the culture and adapted the traditions until they fitted what we needed. I won’t say we kept the _best_ bits. We just ditched what we didn’t understand.”

Duo shrugged and started to eat… Much to Jack and Sam’s confusion, Daniel’s curiosity and Teal’c’s plain puzzlement, Duo used chopsticks instead of the knife and fork they all had.

“Why do you use those?” Daniel asked.  
“Got in the habit.” Duo was dismissive, “They’re easier to clean than a knife and fork… Plus you can easily carry a pair at all times… They’re really light. And they’re not seen as weapons. So people don’t confiscate them… ‘Fei gave them to me last Remembrance Day.”  
“You said that L5 is very reserved?” Sam pressed.  
_“Very.”_ Duo stressed, “I once tried to help one of them… Nearly got my head bitten off.”  
“What did you do?” Jack breathed.  
“Before the Gundam War,” Duo explained, “OZ, or as they were known at the time, the Specials and the Alliance tried to destroy the oldest colony in the L5 cluster. They didn’t manage it… But some of the colonists left almost immediately afterwards. One got a ride on a Sweeper ship I was on at the time… I overheard him moaning that his kanhou was broken beyond repair… A musical instrument. I felt bad. So I made him a new one, using metal and wire… Took me a while, too.

“He threw it at my _head._ Said that a kanhou was made of wood and string and deserved to be respected. Not adulterated as I had done… Then he went into a long rant about my dubious heritage… I don’t think he knew I understood every word.”

“And you just _took_ it?” Jack couldn’t quite believe it.  
“He’d lost his family.” Duo shrugged, “He was just venting. ‘Fei’s people… They’re really calm and serene… Until they’re not. They don’t have a mid-range of emotions. They’re either emotionless or really, really extremely emotional. They kinda scare me sometimes.”


	10. Chapter 10

After the meal, which Jakeem _insisted_ that Duo didn’t need to pay him for, Duo led them back to the Docks. Where he quickly found and entered a bar.

The bar was relatively busy, even though it was still only late afternoon or early evening. But Duo didn’t seem to be phased by the crowds.

“Hey!” Duo chirped, hopping up onto a bar stool. “How’s it going, Pesole?”  
“Shin!” the bartender spun around, a huge grin on his face. “What you doing here? When’d you come up? What you up to? How’ve you been? What’d you have?”  
“Need to do a Call,” Duo started to answer, “Came up today. Hanging around the boys. Been fine. I’ll have a beer.”  
“Oh, no you won’t, Shin.” Pesole almost growled, “You know my rules. No alcohol before twenty one.”  
“But it’s me!” Duo pleaded, “It’s me.”  
“So?” Pesole stared, even as SG1 sat down.

For a few moments the team watched the bartender and Duo had a staring competition.

“I’ll have a ‘Little Death’.” Duo finally surrendered.  
“That’s better,” Pesole smiled, “Who are your friends?”  
“Sam, Jack, Teal’c and Daniel.” Duo pointed to each in turn, “What do you guys want? The beer’s pretty good.”  
“How would you know?” Pesole glowered.  
“I know your rep.” Duo smirked.  
“Four beers.” Jack declared, after a quick unspoken conversation.  
“Four beers and a Little Death, coming right up.” Pesole grinned.  
“A Little Death?” Daniel stared at Duo.  
“Technically I’m too young to be buying in here.” Duo shrugged, “But I’m a Spacer… So Pesole invented a range of non-alcoholic cocktails for me. I had to try each one and name them. The only one that I really loved became known as Little Death. ‘Cos I’m the God of Death. Pesole’s an old Sweeper. I introduced myself as Shinigami to him, he said that that was a big name for such a small kid. Shortened it to Shin. When he learnt the meaning, he started calling me Little Death. It’s the only thing I drink here. Even if someone else buys me a drink, he gets it away from me. I’ve given up asking others.”  
“Here you go.” Pesole placed five drinks on the bar. Duo handed over some credits, before claiming his drink.  
“Wonderful as always!” Duo chirped, gulping some of the drink.  
“You just here for a drink?” Pesole smiled, “A ride? Transport? Delivery? Job?”  
“A ride.” Duo answered, “Tonight. Who’s in?”  
“Ask for yourself.” Pesole smirked, “Everyone!” the voice carried to all parts of the bar, “Shinigami has graced us with his presence tonight.”  
“Shin!” the cry was taken up by most of the patrons.

Before SG1’s eyes, Duo was pulled onto a pair of shoulders and paraded around the bar as if he’d won some kind of award.  
“He’s popular.” Jack blinked.  
“You’re Grounders, right?” Pesole asked rhetorically.  
“So he says.” Sam sighed.  
“He’s a legend in our world.” Pesole explained, “We all respect Shin. He’s the best tweaker and fiddler around.”  
“Okay?” Jack stared, “The only tweakers I know, do drugs. And despite how cheery the Kid is, I don’t think he does drugs.”  
“Sorry,” Pesole snorted, “In Spacer lingo, tweakers are people who tweak things, to make them work better. Fiddlers are those who fiddle, always working on something. Duo’s the best in the sphere. A Shinigami tweaked engine, will out-perform even the newest engine around. It’ll double a ship’s selling price. And be the first one sold.”  
“He’s that good?” Sam insisted.  
“Look lady,” Pesole laughed, “Seventy to eighty percent of Spacers are Sweepers. Not Sweepers are Spacers, though… That means there are about three quarters of all Spacers trained to fix things. And he’s one of the best. If not _the_ best.”  
“But he hasn’t got any qualifications!” Sam stared.  
“You don’t need ‘em.” Pesole chided, _“He_ don’t need ‘em. His rep’s enough. Sure, no rich Grounder’ll hire ‘im. But that don’t matter. Cause he’ll always have work from us.”

Duo was deposited on the small podium that would have held a band, if there was live music. He staggered slightly to regain his balance.  
“Ladies and Germs,” Duo smirked, “I implore of you who soar among the stars, Heaven’s messengers, the modern Valkyries, Hermes’ chosen ones…”  
“Ah get on with it, Shin!” A voice from the crowd called out.  
“You always were a flatterer.” Another pointed out.  
“I need a ride.” Duo came to the point, “For me and four others. Sanq kingdom. Tonight. Who’s going my way? I’m willing to negotiate rates.”  
“Your usual four?” The question was asked.  
“No,” Duo shook his head, “Adults. Fully-grown. Grounders. Not like my guys. Who are half and half.”  
“You miss your flight, boyo?” A female voice laughed.  
“I got distracted, Becks!” Duo seemed slightly ashamed, “The kids okay?”  
“Complaining that they haven’t gotten to see you for a while,” Becks stepped forward, “And my engine needs a tune up. I’m running to Sanq. Leaving in an hour. I put my bid in.”  
“Leaving in half an hour,” A man stepped forward, “Going to Sanq. After a Shin engine. Name of ship: ‘Dancing Devils’. Name of Captain: ‘Holbrook’. Class of Ship: IG-957.”  
“Leaving in two hours,” A woman stepped up, “Destination Sanq. Payment a Shin engine tune-up. Name of Captain: ‘Gibbs’. Class of Ship: TH-834. Name of Ship: ‘Doo-hickey’. Shin Number: 27.”  
“Leaving in an hour and a half,” A man with a long brown coat stepped forward, “I’m heading to Sanq. Class of Ship: Firefly. Name of Ship: ‘Serenity’. Name of Captain: ‘Reynolds’. I need someone to fix the medical bay.”  
“Ennie meanie, minie, mo.” Duo laughed, “If no-one minds, I’ll go with Becks. I know her ship. I know her crew.”  
“You call the chibis crew?” Someone chuckled.  
“Hey,” Duo protested, “They know more about ships than most rich Grounder shuttle owners. And they got _years_ of experience.”  
“The oldest is nine!” Pesole protested jokingly.  
“He started young.” Becks pointed out, “Come on, boyo. Introduce me to these friends of yours.”  
“You got it Becks!” Duo hopped off the platform. He then bowed deeply to her, “Milady?”  
“Milord.” Becks curtsied back, “Oy! Jay! Bring the kids. Let’s meet our passengers.” Becks claimed Duo’s arm and they walked towards SG1 together.

SG1 looked Becks up and down. She wasn’t a short woman, but not too tall either. Slender without being skinny, well muscled would be the best description. Her light brown hair was short, a common style among Spacer women they guessed looking around at the number of similar styles. Grey eyes sparkled with laughter. She was dressed in jeans and a blue t-shirt. Jack snorted into his drink upon reading the slogan written across the t-shirt: ‘If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough’.

Tailing after her was a much taller man, he completely dwarfed Duo. Blonde hair was contrasted by mismatched eyes, one green and one grey. Black slacks and a green slogan t-shirt: ‘It’s not cheating unless you get caught’. He reached out with one large hand and proceeded to pull on Duo’s braid, separating Duo from Becks with one motion.  
“Oy!” Duo protested, “Jaaay!”  
“My lady.” Jay playfully tapped Duo on the nose, “Not yours.”  
“Awww!” Duo pretended to sulk. Before staggering forward as weight appeared on his legs. “Hello, Hell Hounds.” He smirked downwards.  
“We not Hell Hounds!” a little girl protested from where she sat on his right foot.  
“We little angels,” a matching little girl declared, her arms wrapped around Duo’s left leg, “Daddy said so.”  
“Then how do you explain that?” Duo poked their t-shirts, both read the same thing despite the two different colours: ‘I've been given sugar! Use this time to prepare for the end of the world!’  
“Perfectly accurate.” A nine year old boy announced, “I should know. Last time they had sugar, my room got painted. I’d just gotten it right, too.”  
“You doing alright, Hayden?” Duo tried to ruffle the boy’s blonde hair, which was pulled back into a short braid. His t-shirt read: ‘Please, for my sanity… Shut up.’.  
“Just suffering the Flashbacks.” Hayden shrugged.  
“Flashbacks?” Jack frowned, worried.  
“To when I was an only child.” Hayden replied quickly, “I miss those days. I even miss when the brats were too small to do anything. They were cuter then.”  
“Let me introduce,” Duo pointed down at the two limpets on his legs, “Helen and Diana.” He then motioned to the boy, “This is Hayden. And the little one hiding behind him is Joy.”

A little girl’s head poked out from behind Hayden. Short blonde hair on her head and a plain red t-shirt.

“We couldn’t find a phrase that fitted on the t-shirt.” Hayden stated, at Jack’s confused look.  
“She’s a little shy,” Becks shrugged, “She’ll grow out of it. She’s only three.”  
“We’re five!” the twins chorused still attached to Duo.  
“Meet the Chibi crew.” Duo smirked, “The marvellous crew of the Gypsy Caravan.”  
“You sure they’ve got space?” Jack stared, “And what are the kids doing in here anyway? It’s a bar!”  
“They’re Spacers,” Jay replied, “Born in space. Raised in space. This is a Spacer bar. They don’t drink. Pesole’s fine with it.”  
“We’ve got space,” Becks laughed, “Gypsy’s pretty big. We can run you down.”  
“Shouldn’t they be nearly ready for bed?” Daniel asked, “I mean they’re only little.”  
“They’re running off L3 time.” Jay countered, “To them it’s about three in the afternoon.”  
“Let’s finish our drinks,” Duo suggested, “Then show ‘em your ship. I’ll take a look at your engine and see what it needs.”

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Sam frowned slightly as Duo lounged at the bar. He had positioned himself so that he could see most of the bar, especially the entrance using a mirror. Sam was trying to figure out whether it was intentional or accidental, as his posture was very relaxed. It almost seemed as if he had just gotten comfortable and was ignoring the mirror.

Suddenly Duo froze.

“Jay,” Duo murmured, “Is the _whole_ of Mal’s crew here?”  
“Yeah,” Jay shrugged, “I think so… Crud. Hayden, take the girls back to the ship. We’ll be _right_ after you.”  
“Da-ad!” Hayden sighed, “We’re not in any _danger._ Serenity’s crew is safe.”  
“Normally, yes.” Duo countered.  
“But we have strangers.” Becks added, “You know what happened last time.”  
“Five minutes,” Hayden declared getting up, and picking up Joy, “Then I send all the Sweepers in the _Docks_ after you.”  
“Finish your drinks.” Duo ordered SG1, “We’re leaving. As soon as possible.”  
“Why?” Jack frowned, “Aren’t they your friends?”  
“Will they harm you, Duo?” Teal’c asked.  
“They won’t harm _me.”_ Duo sighed, “But Mal’s crew is a little… Unstable. It doesn’t take much to set them off. Strangers set them off.”  
“Then how do they meet people?” Daniel pressed.  
_“Cautiously.”_ Becks declared.  
“I need the toilet.” Daniel argued.  
“I’ll go with him.” Duo stated, “You take the others to the ship. We’ll follow.”  
“We don’t leave Daniel behind.” Jack snapped.  
“He’ll be in more danger if you don’t leave.” Duo countered, “I wouldn’t be worried normally… For some strange reason they like me. But the more strangers there are, the higher the chance… Well, I can’t risk it. Either Daniel holds it… Or you leave and I’ll protect him. I stand the best chance. I won’t let him be harmed. This is _not_ a reflection on you… I would do the same with anyone else.”  
“Daniel?” Sam asked.  
“I can’t.” Daniel confessed, “I _really_ need to go.”  
“Follow me.” Duo rose draining his drink, “Jay, Becks, get them out of here. We’ll meet you either on the way, or at the ship.”  
“You’d better.” Becks growled slightly, “Or we’ll bring every Sweeper in the Docks after _you.”_

Daniel trailed after Duo, as Becks and Jay hurried the rest of SG1 out. Daniel tried looking around to spot the fearsome thing that Duo was scared of… Because no matter what the braided boy claimed… He _had_ to be scared of this crew.

But there was no one remarkable. No one who really stood out.

On the way out again, after Daniel’s pit stop, he was again scanning the crowd. But this time Duo was much closer to Daniel.

Daniel stopped suddenly as a girl appeared in front of him. She reached up and brushed some of his hair off his forehead.

“So many pretty words.” The girl’s voice was strange… _Lilting,_ “Thoughts buzz, buzz, buzzing around. Light People. They sent you back. Locked away thoughts in your head. Hid the bees from you. You want them back.”  
“Yes,” Daniel murmured softly, “Yes, I do.”  
“You won’t get them back… Not without help. The Light People don’t want you to see those bees again. They’re scared.”  
“Scared I might be like Apophis.”  
“No. Scared that you’ll force them to remember what they were _meant_ to be.”  
_“Easy_ River,” Duo muttered, “Don’t confuse the guy.”  
“No power in the ‘verse can stop you.” The strange girl whispered, before kissing Duo on the head, “Snakes can’t take the sky from you.”

Then the girl danced away.

“Move!” Duo pulled on Daniel’s sleeve as he stared at the girl’s retreating form.  
“Maxwell.” A tall man in a long brown coat cut in front of Duo and Daniel.  
“Mal.” Duo nodded, “Your Albatross is loose.”  
“He didn’t harm her?”  
“I never would let anyone harm her.” Duo protested softly, “I’m taking him and his out of here. Don’t wanna upset her.”  
“She won’t harm you.”  
“I know. But they’re strangers. She’s… _Unpredictable_ at the best of times.”  
“You’re scared?”  
“Cautious, Mal. Simply cautious. She likes me. Though I don’t know why. I’m not sure how she’d take the rest of his ‘team’.”  
“See you around.”  
“Look after her.”  
“She’s my crew.”  
“I know.”

The man stepped out of their way, and Duo caught Daniel’s sleeve once again, pulling the older man out of the bar.

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Duo slumped against the wall when he and Daniel had caught up with Becks, Jay and the rest of SG1.  
“You alright?” Jay stared at him.  
_“She_ spoke to him.” Duo nodded at Daniel.  
“A girl?” Jack laughed, “You’re worried about a girl talking to Daniel? She probably wanted a date.”  
“Not _this_ girl.” Becks shook her head, “She’s not right in the head… One _thought_ that disturbs her and she flips.”  
“She’s not stable.” Jay agreed, “But Mal’s crew keep her level… Usually. And the rest of us know how to be around her… Strangers don’t.”  
“Shouldn’t she get medical care?” Sam pressed, “Full time help?”  
“Her brother won’t let her out of his care.” Becks shrugged.  
“‘Sides,” Duo shrugged, “The Alliance did that to her… She was sane before them… Let’s go. Leave her be. She’s happy. What right do you have to interfere with that?”

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SG1 stared around the ship’s interior. They were slightly in shock and awe. Murals covered every solid surface, from the walls to the ceiling and even the countertops. Some looked almost professionally done, while others were obviously childish in nature.

“A little overwhelming?” Becks asked rhetorically.  
“The other ships…” Daniel started, “They weren’t decorated like this at all.”  
“What were they?” Jay queried.  
“A commercial shuttle,” Sam listed, “And a Sweeper ship. The Black Pig.”  
“That explains it.” Becks laughed, “Those are business ships. This is a home.”  
“We may be Sweepers,” Jay shrugged, “But we own our own ship. We are more like contractors than employees. However being Sweeper gives us security. We’ll always be able to fly.”  
“That’s not much.” Jack pointed out.  
“It’s enough.” Becks countered, “We can decorate how we like, because it is _ours._ A commercial shuttle has to look professional, sleek and clean. And a Sweeper business ship has to be neutral enough that anyone can be aboard and not have issues with the decoration. We don’t have those problems.”  
“Plus,” Jay grinned, “Kids always draw on the walls. We just don’t tell them off for it…”  
“And they draw on the floor,” Duo added, “And the ceiling.”  
“Ahh, go look at the engine.” Becks mock punched Duo, who ducked and grinned, before walking away.

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The trip back was relatively uneventful, apart from the fact that Duo didn’t seem to reappear from the engine room, until just before re-entry.

Even the trip back to Quatre’s house was uneventful, as Jack insisted that he drove. Surprisingly Duo didn’t argue this statement. Seemingly content to curl up in the back of the car, clutching his bag.

“You okay, kid?” Jack frowned.  
“Just tired.” Duo yawned, “And you didn’t let me have any coffee.”  
“Kid,” Jack smiled, “After seeing how long you can run without sleep as long as you get coffee… I wasn’t going to let that happen. Now, how do we get back to the Mansion?”  
“Car.” Duo spoke clearly, “Show home.”

SG1 stared as an overlay was projected onto the windscreen, clearly displaying an arrow pointing in the right direction, along with a map to one side with the route plotted out on it.

“You gotta love SatNav.” Jack grinned, as he realized what it was, “Just please tell me it doesn’t talk.”  
“Car.” Duo spoke again, “Mute… Now it doesn’t.”

Duo then curled back up, and seemed to fall into a light doze, as Jack pulled out the car park.

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Duo didn’t move again, until they were parking at Quatre’s place. Quatre was waiting in the garage.

“Duo!” Quatre sighed before the boy got out the car, “Have you slept in the last forty eight hours?… Have you eaten in the last twenty four?”  
“Went to Jakeem’s.” Duo slurred.  
“But I _bet_ you skipped breakfast.” Quatre was suddenly _there_ at Duo’s side as he almost fell out the car.  
“Didn’t have time.” Duo shrugged.  
“Bed.” Quatre ordered, “You’re completely wiped.”  
“He wouldn’t let me have coffee.” Duo complained.  
“Here,” Quatre picked a mug up off a counter, “Drink this. Then go to bed. You can eat in the morning.”  
“Can’t I play with the…”  
“No.”  
“Well can I…”  
“No.”  
“Can’t I…”  
“No. Bed, Duo.” Quatre laughed, “You’re dead on your feet.”  
“Not yet.” Duo seemed to have regained some of his life with a couple of sips from the mug, “Why didn’t you give me coffee?”  
“Because I want you to sleep.” Quatre smiled, “You’ve had a long day. And a stressful one. Go to bed!”  
“Can’t I get something to eat first?” Duo murmured.  
“Go on then.” Quatre agreed, “You know where the kitchen is. Just don’t make too much mess… And no coffee!”  
“Aww!” Duo sighed.  
“I mean it, Duo.” Quatre stated, “No coffee. I want your word.”  
“No coffee.” Duo surrendered.

With that Duo slipped out of the garage without further comment.

“Sorry about that,” Quatre turned to SG1, “Duo sometimes forgets to take care of himself. He gets so wrapped up in his Toys and Projects.”

Quatre was leading SG1 to the cosy den, tucked away from the public areas.

“What’s the difference?” Daniel asked, “I mean… I get the feeling that they lead to the same thing.”  
“Projects are what people ask him to do.” Quatre shrugged, “Toys are what Duo chooses to do. And he’s usually a lot more enthusiastic about a Toy that turns into a Project than a Project itself.”  
“And you don’t _mind_ that he chooses to do his own thing?” Sam queried, “I mean… Wouldn’t you rather he created something _useful?”_  
“And miss what he produces as Toys?” Quatre was shocked, _“Everything_ has a use. You just need to find it. He taught me that… And while he may create Toys, they are _very_ useful ones.”  
“And you don’t _mind_ that he creates toys?” Sam pressed, “Childish things? He could do so much _more!_ His mind is _incredible!_ He should be changing the _World!”_  
“Ah,” Quatre smiled, “You’ve seen behind the foolery. Quite a mind isn’t it?”  
“It’s a mind that should not be _wasted_ on childish toys.” Sam countered.  
“We sacrificed our childhoods for the Sphere.” Quatre shrugged, “If he wishes to recapture it now… Who are you to stop him? Or judge him?”  
“You don’t even know what Duo’s gone through.” Jack laughed, “You’ve been surrounded by splendour your whole life. I doubt you’ve even asked what his life was like.”

Later, Jack would reflect that it was a combination of a lack of sleep, a long day and the day spent having the differences between the two cultures shoved directly into his face that caused him to speak without fully engaging his brain.

A gasp sounded from outside the room, swiftly followed by running footsteps.  
“Shut up!” Quatre snapped, pulling out his phone. He quickly hit a button, “This is Oh-Four to Odds. Oh-Four to Odds. Oh-Two’s done a runner. Our guests found out about Maxwell’s Church. He heard. Left less than a minute ago. I’m at base. Move fast.”

“You think we didn’t know?” Quatre addressed SG1, now that he’d put his phone away, “You misjudge us. We were waiting for him to get the courage to tell us. He’s ashamed of his past. He shouldn’t be. We all know about it. We all found out about it. And we _all_ accept him for it. _You_ betrayed him. Betrayed his trust. Now, stay out of our way. Duo’s just implemented the first part of his motto. If we don’t catch him soon, we’ll never find him. Despite everything that’s happened to Duo over the years, he’s still first and foremost a Street Rat.

“And I don’t care. The only problem is… that it’s hard to catch a Street Rat. Especially _our_ Street Rat. We stand the best chance. But I wouldn’t bet against Duo escaping our reach. He’s fast. I didn’t chase after him, because I know that he can run circles around me. Always could.”

“You knew?” Daniel stared.  
“Father Maxwell,” Quatre’s voice was cold now, “Sister Helen. He doesn’t know, but he’s cried out for them before. I’ve been called Solo by him, when he was too out of it to remember. I was curious. I wanted to know who this boy was. I did the same for Trowa, Heero and Wufei. They found out on their own.

“And he’s scared. He has courage aplenty. There are few people I know who would go into a fire-fight and only seem to worry about the music playing on his headset. I’ve seen him take a beating and antagonise his guards into hurting him more. He’s pushed me out the way of bullets. He broke into my offices, just to check I was okay. I’ve seen him never lose his cool, while everyone else is losing theirs. He’s risked everything for us. And now he thinks he’s lost it. The one thing he’s scared of is that we’ll deem him useless or trash. Thank _you. Just_ what we wanted.”

Daniel flinched at Quatre’s tone. Jack felt slightly worried, Quatre had gone from his normally sunny disposition to being winter in the artic circle. It brought home the fact that Quatre had been a soldier at some point.

“Now,” Quatre broke the silence that his burning cold anger had caused, “I’m going to prepare for Duo’s return. Because right now, he needs me. You don’t.”

Quatre turned and stormed out of the room.  
“Anyone else feel like they just got ripped a new one?” Jack gulped.  
“I do not understand what you mean, O’Neill.” Teal’c replied, “However I feel like I am a young warrior again, and Bra’tac has just told me how foolish my actions have been.”  
“Yeah, that’s the feeling.” Jack nodded, “And he tells you in little words, so that you feel like an idiot?”  
“Indeed.” Teal’c agreed.


	11. Chapter 11

Duo made his way towards the Space Port, once there he could vanish off the face of the Sphere. There was bound to be a Spacer in need of a ‘tweaked’ engine. He could pay his fare away from here or even just hide out on ‘Gypsy’. Quatre wouldn’t have to see him again. He wouldn’t dirty Quatre’s home; not now Quatre knew what he was. If Quatre knew, the others would know. Duo wanted to curse SG1, but he couldn’t. They hadn’t really done anything, apart from expose a truth he had long kept hidden. Was it lying if you never spoke of it?

Duo shook his head to get the thoughts out. He had to keep on moving. He’d slowed down now. Move too fast and you’ll be noticed. Solo had taught him that one. Unless you’re being actively chased, don’t run. People notice a running person. Don’t walk either; you’re trying to get away. Keep a steady pace. Don’t go in a straight line. But don’t meander. You pass the same point too many times, and someone will notice. Keep to the crowded streets, harder to spot you then. But if its late, used the back-streets, where no-one will notice you, or if they do notice, no-one will care.

It was too late for the crowds on the streets. Duo knew his weakness better than anyone else. A long braid wasn’t hard to spot. Wasn’t hard to remember, either. The alleyways were safer, right now. His senses were on full alert, as he carefully picked his route. He almost emerged from one alleyway when he froze and abruptly did a one-eighty turn. A flash of white had caught his eye on the street. Only Wufei could wear white all day and still keep it pristine. The Hunters were out. Time for a Street-Rat to disappear.

Duo vaulted several fences and walls, until he felt that he’d moved far enough away from Wufei. He was still in the alleys, but knew he needed to cross a main street. He was so close to the Port he could taste the fuel in the air. Duo crept to the end of an alley.

Suddenly he couldn’t breathe. All the air had been knocked out of him. White light flashed across his eyes, before settling into black as he fell unconscious.

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When Duo came to, he immediately controlled his reactions. His breathing and heart rate stayed the same. Using every sense available to him, apart from his eyes, Duo tried to work out what was going on. His hands were cuffed together in front of him, but he could deal with that. He was lying down on a bed, a soft one.  
“I know you’re awake, Duo.” Quatre’s voice had a slight smile in it, “You can’t deceive my heart.”  
“Quatre?” Duo was surprised for a moment. Then he sighed, “You heard me run.”  
“Yes,” Quatre nodded, “I got everyone playing ‘Hunt Duo’. Trowa found you.”  
“Should have guessed.” Duo realized, “He went for my stomach. I _hate_ it when you guys do that. What did you do? Set Wufei up as an obvious obstacle and time it?”  
“We couldn’t let you run.” Quatre stated, “We know you. If you’d gotten much more of a head-start, we’d have never found you. We know why you ran. And just for your information… We knew a long time ago.”  
“What?” Duo stared at Quatre.  
“You think Heero didn’t dig?” Quatre looked down at Duo, “You think I didn’t? I invited you into my house. Into the Maganacs’ village. I couldn’t have a risk. I did the same for each of the others. What I found out about you… Matched what I saw. Matched what I _felt._ A strong, brave and above all _loyal_ friend. A survivor. We were just waiting for you to tell us. We trust you Duo. We just don’t trust you not to run and never come back if you’re scared.”  
“Alright,” Duo breathed, “Would you mind unlocking me then?”  
“I can’t.” Quatre replied, “I don’t have the key. We _know_ you! I’m in here without key or lock-picks. The door is locked as well, and I can’t open that either. We didn’t want to risk you overpowering one of us and doing a runner.”

Duo smiled at that. He quickly moved his hands towards his hair, to find his lock-picks. Only his hand met fabric.  
“What the…?” Duo couldn’t find hair at all.  
“Sorry,” Quatre apologized, “But like I said, we know you. We just wrapped your hair up. If you can’t get at it…”  
“I can’t get away as quickly.” Duo nodded, understanding the logic.  
“Here,” Quatre stood up and carefully pulled the fabric away from Duo’s braid, “That better?”  
“Thanks.” Duo picked the lock on the handcuffs quickly. “You really knew?”  
“Why do you think we always call you today?” Quatre asked, “On the anniversary? But always in the evening. Why do you think we tried to persuade Relena to let one of us take them? Even after you agreed. Why do you think I poured so much money into L2? You, Duo. We knew. Each of us investigated for our own reasons. At first we didn’t realize that we all knew. But it became obvious. We all know. And none of us care. It doesn’t change who you are. In a way it makes you stronger in our eyes.”

Duo had sat up, and pulled the cloth off the last of his braid. Idly he noticed that it was custom-made to cover all his hair. He hadn’t really expected anything else. Just as he had ways and means of taking the others down if necessary, they had ways and means for him. Duo’s eyes flicked to the lock on the door. Complicated, would take him about ten minutes to get through it. Not that the others knew that; some tricks he’d kept up his sleeves.

They knew. They had always known. Part of Duo was rejoicing at the fact; while another part of him was filled with terror. They knew. They knew that he was nothing more than an orphaned street rat. They knew that he had begged and stolen for most of his life. They knew that everyone he got close to seemed to die. They knew he was nothing compared to them. They knew he had killed everyone in the Maxwell Church and Orphanage, because of his actions. They knew he was dirty. No matter how hard you scrubbed, L2 never truly came off your skin.

Quatre didn’t have time to react. He wasn’t expecting it; and quite frankly Duo didn’t realize what he was doing until half way through the act, even then he didn’t stop. Quatre found himself cuffed, to the headboard of the bed. The cloth wrapping for Duo’s braid was now a gag.

“I’m sorry Cattie.” Duo couldn’t quite meet Quatre’s eyes, “I need some space. This is… A little strange for me. Give me some time. I’ll be back tomorrow. I’ll be back for lunch. I promise, Cattie. I can’t let you go. You’ll tell the others. I _need_ fifteen minutes to vanish. You know that as well as I do. I’ll be back. I swear it.”

Duo opened the window, turning back to Quatre, wincing at the slight disappointment he saw in the blond’s eyes.  
“The others should be up in about half an hour.” Duo murmured, “I know _them,_ too. I’m sorry, Cattie. I just need time to myself.”

Then Duo was gone. Quatre watched the wind blow the curtains for a while, before settling down to wait. With a bit of luck the others would come a little early.

Luck was on Quatre’s side, Trowa cautiously opened the door twenty minutes later. His eye widened slightly at Quatre’s position. He moved quickly to free Quatre. Wufei and Heero entered behind the acrobat.  
“We either need an alert switch,” Quatre muttered rubbing his wrists, “Or someone watching a camera. Don’t bother.” Quatre addressed Heero, who was looking out the window, “He left a while ago. We won’t catch him.”  
“What do we do then?” Heero asked, his voice quiet.  
“He said he’d be back for lunch.” Quatre answered, “He _promised._ He said he needed time to think.”  
“Where’s the kid?” Jack called from the door.  
“Gone.” Heero replied bluntly.  
“Look,” Jack breathed, “I’m sorry. We shouldn’t…”  
“No,” Wufei cut him off, “You shouldn’t have. We knew. And we knew that despite his past… No, _because_ of his past, Maxwell is an honourable man. We knew that he is loyal. We knew that he had his reasons in keeping quiet. Just as you have your reasons to keep quiet about your past. What you did, was dishonourable. Maxwell has not always served the Law, but he has _always_ served Justice.”  
“What do you mean?” Daniel stared.  
“The Alliance and Oz,” Trowa spoke up, “Were not above using biological weapons. There is a high probability that the Plague on L2 was actually a bio-weapon aimed at reducing the numbers of the poor and homeless. The destruction of Maxwell’s Church and Orphanage, while not being directly ordered, the soldiers of the Alliance had instructions to make a public statement against the rebels; so in some way it was sanctioned. There was a great deal of unexpected fallout due to the nature of the target. However the incidence of rebels on L2 was greatly diminished after the event.”  
“Oh God!” Sam murmured, “They _deliberately_ wiped out a church? We thought it was just an accident.”  
“Mobile Suits against men with guns?” Heero was blunt, “No accident.”  
“Indeed.” Teal’c agreed, “Savagery at its worst.”  
“Does Duo know?” Jack pressed.  
“Unlikely,” Quatre answered, “He doesn’t like to pick at his wounds. Trowa found out during the war. He met a few of the soldiers from the L2 base. Heero hacked a few files. Wufei studied the plague reports. We pieced it together. We haven’t told Duo. He feels bad enough as it is.”  
“He wouldn’t blame himself,” Sam protested, “It’s not his fault.”  
“He blames himself already.” Quatre shrugged, “Duo jokes that one day I’ll blame myself for there being no air in space. But he’s just as bad. At least he is when it comes to the deaths of those he’s close to.”  
“He’s proud,” Wufei declared, “Too proud to ask for help. Too ashamed of his past to believe that we’ll stand by him. He’s our Proud, _Ashamed_ Shinigami.”


	12. Chapter 12

As it neared lunch time all of the boys started to get agitated. SG1 were calm by comparison.

“He’s not back.” Heero frowned, “You said he said he’d be back.”  
“He did.” Quatre replied, “He promised. I’m checking security.”  
“So he’s late,” Jack sighed, “The kid lost track of time.”  
“There are two facts you need to know about Maxwell,” Wufei spoke clearly, “He never lies. And he never breaks a promise willingly. He has his Honour. If he isn’t here, something or someone is stopping him.”  
“As we don’t know where he was headed,” Quatre declared, “We’ll start from where he began. It’s times like this when I’m _glad_ that most of the Maganacs are overprotective. There’s not a blind spot in my system.”  
“If that fails,” Heero nodded, “I’ll contact the Sweepers. They know his haunts. They can cover more ground.”  
“Check the local churches.” Trowa suggested, “While it is unlikely that he will be there at the present moment, he may well have visited one last night.”  
“Security cameras first.” Quatre countered.

The four remaining Gundam Pilots and SG1 were all in the security room. Quatre, Trowa and Heero were quickly switching through recordings from the night before. Their motions were completely natural, as if they had done this a thousand times before and would do so a thousand times again. Wufei was leaning against the wall, arms folded across his chest. His eyes scanned the flickering images across the various monitors, trying to catch anything that his colleagues missed. SG1 merely watched, partially in fascination and partially in awe of the skill being shown.

“There!” Quatre called out, “Camera Eighty Seven. Just outside the grounds.”

The footage wasn’t much. Duo vaulted over the wall, landing lightly on the ground. As he straightened up, three men approached. They talked for a while. Then Duo walked towards the men. He had his arms held out, as if expecting to be restrained. A syringe was inserted in his neck and its contents delivered into the teen. Duo fell limp only a few seconds later. One of the men picked him up, before they walked away, carrying the unconscious Duo.

“Who are those others?” Wufei asked, looking at the three men who were almost hidden in the darkness.  
“Is there a better angle?” Sam queried, leaning forward slightly to look at the image.  
“We’re lucky to have this.” Quatre replied, “There may be no blind spots on the grounds. And none along the length of the walls. But we can’t watch everywhere. They’re right on the edge of the cameras. If they were just a few metres further away, we wouldn’t even have this.”  
“Zoom in on Duo,” Heero instructed, “And run it again.”

Quatre quickly manipulated the image for Heero. Heero’s eyes were fixed on Duo’s lips.  
“Can you get anything for the men’s faces?” Heero demanded to know.  
“No,” Quatre shook his head, “Too dark. And the hats don’t help.”  
“Hats, long coats,” Jack chimed in, “What is this? Some bad cop drama? Where they’re the bad guys?”  
“Zero.” Heero stated. His voice was barely more than a whisper, but the other three boys’ heads snapped to face him.  
“What?” Quatre breathed. His hands clenched into fists so firmly that the knuckles were turning white. The blood was draining from Wufei’s face. Even Trowa was showing shock and little bit of fear on his normally impassive countenance.  
“Duo mentions Zero.” Heero answered, his voice almost shaking slightly.  
“How can you tell?” Daniel asked, “There’s no sound on this thing.”  
“I can lip read.” Heero replied. “Duo knows that. Those men are after someone who has mastered the Zero system.”  
“Allah!” Quatre stared, “Then why take Duo? He never used that system.”  
“Duo said he did.” Heero countered, “He surrendered to them.”  
_“When?”_ Wufei pressed, “I never saw him use it. It was never installed in his….”  
“If Duo said he used it,” Quatre pointed out, “Then he used it. We don’t know when. We don’t know why. However there is a bigger problem here. If they have the Zero system, then they have something for it to be _installed_ in. If they are looking for a _Pilot,_ then they have a weapon. Most importantly, all Duo has done is buy us some time. While I do not doubt that Duo has used the system, there is no possible way that he has _Mastered_ it. When that fact becomes clear…”  
“He won’t be of any use to them.” Heero nodded, “He’ll be a liability.”  
“Wait!” Jack interrupted the flow of conversation, “What’s this Zero system?”  
“Dangerous,” Quatre replied, only saying that single word.

Quatre’s face was lowered, so that no-one could see his face. But it was impossible to ignore the sadness, guilt and grief in his voice.

“A true Master is formidable,” Wufei stated, “Anyone else can destroy friends, and attack innocents. I do not doubt that Maxwell has used it, if he says he did, but it would be foolish to believe that he has or could master it.  
“If we did have to face Duo using the system, we would probably have to kill him to stop him.” Trowa added, closing his eyes as he spoke.  
“No,” Sam shook her head, “Not Duo. He wouldn’t…”  
“You don’t know Zero!” Quatre shouted, lifting his head to glare at her, “That system is dangerous. I nearly killed Trowa. I _would_ have killed Trowa if it wasn’t for Heero.”  
“It’s really that dangerous?” Jack cut Quatre off, before the blond elaborated further.  
“Even more so.” Heero agreed, “There’s no way Duo has mastered it. He doesn’t like the system.”  
“We have time,” Wufei announced, “They drugged him. That gives us a window to find him. I will contact Lady Une. If there is any Justice in the world, we’ll be assigned the case.”  
“Even if there isn’t,” Quatre declared, “We’ll still be involved. I am _not_ leaving Duo in the hands of terrorists!”  
“What are you going to do?” Daniel asked.  
“Find them.” Quatre replied, “And _stop_ them. Wufei, you call Lady Une. Alert the Preventors. Heero, Trowa, I want every bit of info you can gather on any possible terrorist organisations. Concentrate on those who could have the resources to obtain or build a Mobile Suit. I’ll get what I can out of this video. There might be a clue.”  
“Mission accepted.” Heero nodded, leaving the room to find his laptop. Trowa merely turned to leave the room. Wufei pulled a phone out of a pocket and almost marched out the room to call the Preventors.  
“Is there anything we can do to help?” Jack queried.  
“You any good with enhancement programs?” Quatre fired back.  
“Let me have a try.” Sam pulled up a chair.  
“I’m not great,” Daniel also sat down, “But I’m alright.”  
“When the hell did you pick that skill up?” Jack stared.  
“When the other teams started bringing me pictures to translate,” Daniel shrugged, “Half the pictures are out of focus and most of the others I need to piece together. Takes me a while. But I’m not too bad.”  
“Anything’s better than nothing.” Quatre declared, “We’ve got to find Duo. _Before_ he annoys them into killing him.”  
“Does he do that a lot?” Jack frowned.  
“During the war,” Quatre shrugged, “He was sentenced to death. Heero rescued him before the execution.”  
“He’s just a kid.” Sam stared.  
“There would be no advantage militaristically speaking in his death.” Teal’c was puzzled.  
“They had their reasons.” Heero ended the discussion as he entered carrying his laptop, “The Preventers are forwarding the Terrorist Watch List, as well as the recent chatter.”  
“What phrases you going to be looking for?” Jack pointed out, “They could be using any number of code words.”  
“We have a dictionary.” Quatre replied negligently, “There is a reason we let Duo lose all the time, rather than tie him down in a lab or mechanist’s garage somewhere. Other than the fact that he’d drive everyone else crazy… There isn’t a rumour on any street in the Sphere he hasn’t heard. While he may not have been directly told it, his informants have. Everything gets forwarded. Though most of its gossip.”  
“So the kid’s a spymaster.” Jack realized.  
“Oh he’s far more than that.” Quatre smirked briefly, “Far, far more.”  
“So how do we find him?” Sam asked, “I doubt these videos will really bring up much that will really help. Unless you have a database of all faces.”  
“No.” Quatre shook his head, “But if we can find out what _they_ said… We might get a better clue about what’s going on.”

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Wufei returned about twenty minutes later. Sam, Daniel and Quatre had given up on the enhancement programs. No matter _how_ they tweaked it the image would not give up any more information.

“We have autonomy.” He declared, “Though Lady Une requires at least two to be left alive… Preferably three.”  
“You’d kill?” Sam stared.  
_“If_ they try to kill us or Duo.” Heero replied, “Quatre, Duo reported something interesting two days ago. It has yet to be followed up.”

He turned his laptop to face Quatre, who quickly scanned the information.

“Who calls Howard?” Quatre asked.

Both Wufei and Heero simply stared at Quatre.

“I might have guessed.” Quatre muttered.

Reaching slightly to one side, Quatre hit a few buttons. A few moments passed and then an older man wearing a pair of shades appeared on a screen.

“Howard,” Quatre smiled, “How are you?”  
“I’m fine, boy.” The old man replied, “What’s up?”  
“Duo reported you mentioned that someone’s been buying up Suit parts.” Quatre stated.  
“So I did. Why?”  
“Do you know where it’s going? We’ll take anything… A Cluster… A random direction… _Anything!”_ Jack stared at Quatre, the boy sounded more desperate than he’d ever heard.  
“What’s the matter, boy? Where’s the Kid?”  
“They took him,” Quatre sighed, “They took him. And the only thing we know is that they’re using Zero… They have to have a weapon.”  
“They took him?” Howard frowned, “When?”  
“Last night. We only found out about an hour ago. We went out to cool off… We had to dump a few shocks on him. He wanted some time to think.”

Jack stared at the usually confident Quatre. He sounded remarkably like a guilty school-boy trying to explain to a friend’s worried parent, why the friend wasn’t with him.

“It’s alright, boy. The Kid is the Kid. I wouldn’t expect you to be there all the time. He needs his space.”  
“Can you help?”  
“I can give you the ID of the Research Satellite we managed to track everything to.”  
“That’s great!”  
“I can’t say it stayed there.”  
“It’s a start, at least.”  
“Boy,” Howard looked sober, “They’ve been buying Gundanium as well.”  
“How much?” Quatre’s jubilant mood was gone in an instant.  
“Can’t rightly say. More than enough for a standard Suit.”  
“A Gundam.” Quatre muttered.  
“That’s my thought, too, boy.”  
“Send me the details?”  
“Already sent. You bring the Kid home.”  
“I will Howard. We will.”

The connection was cut.

“Who was that?” Jack asked.  
“The closest thing Duo has to family after us.” Quatre replied, “Howard. He’s the leader of the Sweepers.”  
“Yeah,” Jack nodded, “I was told about him. Does he ever call you by your name?”  
“No,” Quatre shrugged, “We’re all ‘boy’ to him. Apart from Duo. He’s the Kid. Howard even calls Zechs boy.”  
“You respect him.” Jack realized.  
“More than I can explain. He was one of the original designers of the Gundams… He knows more about them than nearly everyone else.”  
“Nearly?” Jack raised an eyebrow.  
“We were the mechanics. We had to know how to fix them. I’m nowhere _near_ as competent as Duo or Trowa… They helped _build_ the things in the first place… But I’m decent.”  
“Duo and Trowa know the internal workings of a Gundam the best.” Heero confirmed.  
“So he _can_ fly one?” Sam pressed.  
“To a certain degree.” Quatre nodded, “But…”  
“Not like a Gundam Pilot?” Daniel smiled.  
“Maxwell has his own style.” Wufei announced.


	13. Chapter 13

“Scary, isn’t it?” Noin smiled, as she watched the scene SG1 was transfixed by.

The Pilots had moved to the Preventer’s local offices. And they had quickly commandeered a large room. It was clearly usually used for planning. But the Pilots weren’t planning… Or at least they didn’t _seem_ to be planning.

There was a large pile of weaponry and equipment in the middle of the room. Quatre was sitting in a corner with a laptop, clearly intently searching for something. The others were cleaning, sorting and organising the pile, before packing it away in bags, ready to move.

“They’re like a machine.” Sam breathed.  
“They’re the best.” Noin grinned, “A whole army if they want to be.”  
“You do not fear them, Noin.” Teal’c noted.  
“No,” Noin shook her head, “I don’t. I don’t need to.”  
“Do you fear _for_ them?” Daniel asked, “I mean… There might be another war. Someone’s trying a rebellion.”  
“There won’t be another war.” Noin stated.  
“You sound so sure.” Sam frowned.  
“I am.” Noin replied.  
“Why?” Daniel was confused.  
“You see those boys?” Noin nodded at the Pilots, “They’re our conscious. They won’t let us fight ourselves again.”  
“What if one of _them_ tries to start one?” Daniel pressed, “They’re still young. They can make mistakes.”  
“That’s why there’s five of them. They watch each other.” Noin countered, “And they’d never all snap at the same time.”  
“How can you be so sure?” Sam asked, “They’re just five boys.”  
“When you’ve seen the impossible,” Sally cut in, “When you’ve seen miracles… When you’ve seen… Well… Let’s just say they’ve proved themselves.”  
“Sir?” Sam looked at Jack, who was following Sally.  
“Took a bit of talking,” Jack grinned, “But I did it.”  
“Good.” Sam nodded.

“We’re going with you.” Jack declared, disrupting the Pilot’s planning.  
“This isn’t your business.” Wufei countered, “This isn’t your planet.”  
“No,” Sam replied, “But we do feel partially responsible.”  
“Duo is a friend,” Jack added, “We cleared it with the General.”  
“You said yourself,” Daniel put in, “That Duo doesn’t have much time!”  
“You would be foolish to reject help.” Teal’c stated.  
“We don’t…” Wufei started.  
“Stand down, Oh-Five.” Quatre declared, “They will follow, whether we desire their aid or not.”

Wufei fell silent and bowed his head in submission. Heero and Trowa were merely silent, though their gazes were hard.

“Thank you,” Jack smiled, “What’s the plan?”  
“Oh-One, Oh-Five,” Quatre looked at the pair, “Oh-Three and myself will need a distraction to get in…”  
“Just the four of you and _us?”_ Sam stared, “You have an entire force of people to help you… And you wish to fight _alone?”_  
“Large groups take time to organise.” Trowa replied, “We know each other’s habits and tactics.”  
“Smaller groups,” Heero added, “Move quicker. We need speed over strength.”  
“Smaller groups can infiltrate more easily.” Quatre put in, “If we scare them with a show of force, they may decide to kill Duo, instead of letting us rescue him.”  
“He is our friend.” Wufei declared, “We will not risk his safety. We are more than capable.”  
“If we could,” Quatre announced, “We would not take you either… But I sense you would follow us anyway.”  
“Yeah.” Jack nodded, “We would.”  
“Okay then,” Quatre shrugged, “Daniel, you’re with Trowa and I. Sam, Jack, Teal’c you’re providing the distraction with Oh-One and Oh-Five. Grab whatever weapons or tools you’ll need. We move in two.”  
“Where are we going?” Daniel asked.  
“Old research satellite.” Heero replied in clipped tones, “Currently abandoned.”  
“Howard came through?” Daniel asked lightly.  
“Affirmative.” Heero announced.  
“ETT is approximately twelve hours.” Wufei nodded, shouldering a pack, apparently testing its weight.  
“You’re packing for bear.” Jack realized, as he quickly supplemented his usual weapons with a few items from the pile, along with a handful of extra clips.  
“If they think they’re ready to attack the Sphere,” Wufei almost growled, “Then they have to be well armed.”  
“We’ll be taking Faran.” Trowa announced.  
“Anticipated,” Noin nodded, “He’ll be ready and waiting for you. Just don’t pull a Sparhawk.”  
“Or a Seabird.” Sally added.  
“We’ll do what we have to do.” Quatre’s voice brooked no argument.  
“Just remember,” Noin sighed, “Two alive. At least.”  
“Of course, _onna.”_ Wufei seemed to sneer, “We will.”  
“You didn’t say anything about their _condition.”_ Quatre pointed out, as he led the exit of the room.  
“As long as they can talk coherently…” Noin shrugged, “They deserve whatever you do to them. If you pull the tiger by the tail, you’d better have a plan for dealing with the teeth.”  
“All for one and one for all.” Daniel muttered as he followed the Pilots out, along with the rest of SG1.

123456789

The shuttle was waiting at the space-port, the engine already running. A female Preventer agent in full uniform exited and saluted.

“All fired up and ready, sirs.” She declared.  
“Good.” Quatre nodded, “Get clear.”  
“Yes, sir.”

The agent ran off.

The tone of the engine changed. Heero and Trowa were in the cockpit already. Their kit having been secured in webbing just behind them.

Wufei was securing the bigger and bulkier kit at the back of the shuttle.

SG1 noticed that the shuttle was a lot more basic than the others they had travelled in. Though the reason was clear to see. The internal walls had been torn out, leaving the barest minimum of support structures. The walls were still painted, different colours in patches, changing where walls had been removed.

The only internal walls left were the ones separating the cockpit from the cabin and the bathroom from everything else.

The seats were arranged along the walls, leaving a large aisle area.

SG1 secured themselves into the seats nearest the cockpit on the left. Quatre and Wufei sat on the right.

They were barely settled before the shuttle started to move into launching position. Then just as quickly launched.

“How long?” Daniel asked, still slightly in shock at the speed that things were happening.  
“It’ll take about eight hours.” Quatre shrugged, “The satellite’s a bit far out. Get some rest.”

With that Quatre, turned slightly in his seat, and curled up to sleep. Wufei simply folding his arms, crossing his ankles and lowering his head as he drifted into a doze.

Through the cock-pit hatch, SG1 could see that Trowa and Heero were also settling into a doze.

SG1 got as comfortable as they could. It was going to be a long trip.

Daniel stared at the wall opposite them for some time. Someone had added a painting over the patchy paint. It was a large roan war-horse, or at least that’s what it appeared to be underneath the black armour and black fabric with silver trim. The horse almost seemed to be prancing.

As he fell into sleep the horse seemed to follow him into his dreams. Prancing and parading around.

123456789

Daniel woke up as he heard shifting around him. Heero, Quatre and Wufei were attaching their gear to themselves.

“Won’t they get suspicious?” Jack frowned, “I mean this is pretty out of the way. From what you were saying.”  
“There’s a Preventer training satellite about two hours travel from here.” Quatre shrugged, “And Faran is pretty good about picking up a stone in his shoe when needed.”

With that Jack and Teal’c nearly fell over as the shuttle seemed to shudder. Daniel _did_ fall over. And Sam was still seated. The Pilots had been expecting it. All of them crouched low to the ground.

“Good boy.” Quatre murmured absent-mindedly, patting the shuttle floor with one hand.  
“So we’re an injured shuttle?” Sam asked.  
“Affirmative.” Heero nodded, settling his last gun. He walked like a walking armoury and Wufei wasn’t any better.

Quatre was wearing fewer visible weapons, but had a small pack strapped to his back.

“We don’t know where they are located on the satellite.” Quatre pointed out, “We’ll need to search. In pairs.”  
“Teal’c,” Jack spoke up, “You’re with Wufei. Sam, Quatre. Daniel, Trowa. I’ll go with Heero.”

The Pilots looked at Quatre. He closed his eyes for a moment and then nodded. Immediately they turned back to what they had been doing.

“Thought you said Heero was the leader.” Jack murmured into Daniel’s ear.  
“I went by their numbers,” Daniel defended himself, “I don’t know why I was wrong… Unless the numbers stand for their colonies?”

They didn’t get any more time to discuss the topic, as the Pilots split up and started walking away, not even waiting for their temporary partners.

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About three hours later, after they had finished searching the more obvious areas of the satellite and started tunnelling through the air-ducts, Daniel had had enough.

“Look,” Daniel sighed, “It’s pretty clear that even if this _was_ a base. They’re not here anymore. Why are we still searching? Why don’t we try and figure out where they _actually_ went?”  
“Duo would have left us a sign.” Trowa replied bluntly, “Tell us where they’ve gone.”  
“How can you be so sure?” Daniel asked.  
“It’s Duo.” Trowa declared, as if that were all the explanation needed.

123456789

After five hours all of them met back at the Space-Port. Heero already tapping away at the computers, accessing the docking logs.

“What’ve you got?” Quatre gently asked, perched on a surface top.  
“Traffic in and out.” Heero replied bluntly, “Sweeper in and out. After each Sweeper delivery a second different shuttle. Presumably their own.”  
“I spotted a small armoury.” Wufei added, “This place is fortified, but has no personnel at present.”  
“Presumably they intend to place the personnel near to the invasion time.” Teal’c stated.  
“Dammit!” Jack banged his hand down fiercely, “This is just a staging post!”  
“Frequented by shuttles.” Trowa corrected.  
“And your point is?” Sam frowned.  
“Even a shuttle at full fuel capacity,” Wufei smirks slightly, “Has a limited range.”  
“What are we looking at?” Quatre was leaning over Heero’s shoulder at the computer system.  
“EA9s,” Heero replied, “Full tank… Five clicks?”  
“Agreed.” Trowa nodded, “That’s a short range shuttle. Intra-colony.”  
“Doesn’t leave many options around here.” Wufei declared.  
“Couldn’t it land inside a large ship?” Jack protested, “Get a greater range?”  
“Too big.” Quatre retorted, “EA9s are designed to carry heavy loads short distances. Then unload in space. Either at a colony dock, or fixed construction point. EA9s usually carries a couple of C1s. Little run-arounds really. They ferry the load from dry docks to the hold… No. These guys are nearby. Or at least their attempt at a Gundam is.”  
“And if Duo is to pilot it, he’ll be nearby." Daniel realised.  
“If he’s still there.” Heero nodded.  
“You are worried that they will have determined the truth and disposed of him, HeeroYuy.” Teal’c asked.  
“No.” Heero shook his head.  
“Duo doesn’t like to hang around.” Quatre stated, “He’s probably trying to escape.”  
“If he hasn’t already.” Wufei added.  
“Trying to or escaped?” Jack frowned. But no one answered him.


	14. Chapter 14

When Duo had leapt from the window, leaving Quatre behind, his only intention had been to hole up in the local church orphanage. He knew the kids there. And he had on occasion spent a night or two there. Without the permission or knowledge of the adults.

The kids wouldn’t ask any questions. They never did… At least not about why he wanted to stay the night. They’d probably bug him to make them a toy or something… He could deal with that.

Especially as it was late and they’d all be asleep.

He’d camp out in the dormitory roof, in the hammock they had slung there.

His thoughts almost completely rattled with everything Quatre had told him, the implications of them and the plan to creep into the orphanage, Duo could be forgive for not noticing the small group of men outside of Quatre’s walls, until one of them spoke.

Fortunately for Duo’s sake, he had landed, having vaulted the walls, _before_ they spoke.

“Stay where you are.” The voice was low.  
“Hey, buddy,” Duo was startled. Inwardly cursing that he’d been too wrapped up in his own thoughts to notice anyone, he tried to recover “What you doing here?”  
“You will tell us how to get into the mansion.”  
“Why’d you want to get there?” Duo started to worry, “Cat’s a really nice guy. But if you want to talk to him, you’ll have to come back tomorrow. He’s a little tied up.”  
“It is not him we want.” The leader countered.  
“We want the Gundam Pilot.” His more loose-lipped subordinate added.  
“What do you want a Gundam Pilot for?” Duo started sending up prayers, to that God he didn’t believe in, that Quatre had cameras covering this area. Even more prayers went up to ask that Heero watch the tapes. “And why would one be here? I mean, _everyone_ knows the Winner family were pacifists during the war.”

‘Yeah,’ Duo thought to himself, ‘Everyone _knows_ that. Doesn’t mean it’s true though.’

“It is _also_ known,” The loose-lipped guy pointed out, “That Gundam 04 was closely associated with the Maganac Corps. Those same Maganacs now guard young Master Winner. One of them is a Gundam Pilot.”  
“Why do you want a Pilot anyway?” Duo tried again, “Sure there might be a Pilot among the Maganacs. But there’s no more war. So what’s the point? A Pilot’s just a man.”  
“And Zero’s just a system.” The loose-lipped man declared. Duo’s heart seemed to stop at that remark.  
“Zero?” Duo stared, “What’d you want that for? You do know the side-effects, right?”  
“That’s why we want a Gundam Pilot. They mastered the system.”  
“You want a Zero Master?” Duo couldn’t help but capitalize the words. Inwardly he was now going through every swear word in his, admittedly extensive, vocabulary. These men were after Quatre or Heero. He was damned if they were going to get either. “I’ve used the system.”  
“You’re just a boy!” the put-down was automatic, dismissive.  
“Check the records,” Duo hated the fact that he was doing this. However he had no choice in the matter. If they needed a Zero Master, they had a weapon. If he could just slow them down… Hold them up for just long enough… The others could stop them. “I was arrested during the Gundam War. My face was put up on every vid-screen. I’m a Gundam Pilot. I’ve used Zero. Check the records. My face will match.”

Deep down Duo was terrified. He’d been a prisoner twice during the Gundam War, neither stay had been particularly pleasant. It was part of the reason he’d felt so betrayed by Heero and Trowa during the Mariemaia Rebellion. He did _not_ like being imprisoned. It wasn’t so much the confinement. It was more the way the guards looked at him. It reminded him of the streets far too much. As much as he liked to pretend that he’d left his past behind him, he knew he hadn’t. Oh, they’d never touched him… Not _that_ way at least. But their looks… Even the looks had made him feel dirty. Oz had had a high moral code when it came down to treatment of prisoners, at least in Duo’s book. You got fed, watered, beaten up, and medically treated if the interrogation sessions went way too far or you were seriously ill. And he’d not stayed long enough in Mariemaia’s army’s care to find out if they kept the same standards. It had been one of the things Solo had refused to let the gaggle of street rats do. He had never kidnapped and never sold himself.

However Duo knew that he had to delay the terrorists for as long as possible. Offering himself as a victim, would slow everything down, especially if he got stubborn. He could buy enough time; at least until tomorrow at noon, when Quatre would start to get worried. Once again he prayed that there were cameras watching this area.

“If you want a Gundam Pilot familiar with Zero,” Duo suppressed a shiver, “Then I’m your guy. I know the system. Inside and out.” That was the truth, after the War had ended Duo had sat down for a full month dissecting the system, working out why it worked and more importantly _how._ He reckoned he knew more about the system than either Heero or Quatre. However he had only ever used it that once. He had no desire to use it again; but for his friends’ sake, he would. All he could do was hope and pray that they would be able to find him and stop him.

“You’re lying!”  
“I never lie,” Duo protested, “I run and I hide. But I don’t lie. I’ve used Zero. I’m a Gundam Pilot. I’m what you need.”

‘Just not what you want.’ Duo thought to himself.

“You would surrender willingly?” the disbelief was clearly audible.  
“Not normally,” Duo shrugged, “But I won’t let my friends get hurt. And they probably would if you did storm the place. I can assume there’s more than just the three of you?”

The silence was all the answer Duo needed.  
“For my friends, I will surrender.” Duo stated, knowing that he’d given as much information as he could to the others, _if_ there was a camera recording at the right angle.

All Duo had to rely on was the paranoia of the Maganacs. And the other Pilots’ understanding of his thoughts and actions.

All in all, Duo reckoned he was on to a winner. He just had to stall for about fourteen hours. Enough time for lunch to roll around and the others to get worried.

He stepped forward, extending his arms, waiting for some sort of cuffs. He was hoping that if he co-operated at _this_ point, they’d cuff his hands in front of him. Then after an hour or two, when he’d been taken to their base, he could free himself and run. Causing havoc on his way out.

Duo almost sighed in exasperation as he sensed one of the men behind him. They weren’t falling for the trick… Well, it would only delay him by a couple of seconds. It was really just more comfortable to be travelling with hands cuffed in front.

Duo froze as he felt a needle slip under his skin and directly into the carotid artery.

‘Slag it!’ Duo thought, even as he felt his limbs grow heavy and his world darkened into oblivion.

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Duo slowly rose through a haze as he came round. Instinct more than training kept his body still as he regained consciousness.

He couldn’t move even if he tried though. He could sense the straps keeping his body prone.

He could feel the movement around him. That coupled with the noise informed him that he was on board a shuttle. Judging by the engine noise, he was _probably_ on board a JA-142. Pretty speedy, but not the fastest thing out there.

If Duo could get free, from where he _knew_ he was stashed in one of the cabins, he could easily foul up the engine. Or if he was feeling _really_ imaginative and could barricade the entrance, reroute the controls through to the engine-room and drive the ship.

However Duo didn’t attempt to free himself. Instead he stayed perfectly still, suppressing his need to move. Suppressing automatic reactions as much as he could. Listening he came to the conclusion that he was alone in the room.

He relaxed, allowing automatic reactions to occur.

He turned his head to the side and threw up. Idly he wondered if he’d thrown up both his supper _and_ lunch at the same time.

Seconds later it didn’t matter. If he hadn’t thrown up his lunch before… He definitely had now.

“Crud.” Duo murmured, “I hate drugs.”

A dislocated thumb later, and Duo was undoing his straps.

Looking around, he realized that gravity was on full.

“Grounders.” He muttered, “Explains why the engine’s screaming.”

Most people wouldn’t have noticed. But Duo had spent more time inside engine rooms and inside engines than most. Most Spacers would have noticed that the engine didn’t sound right. And most Spacers wouldn’t have been pushing the engine so hard that it would _make_ those noises. Not unless they had to. If they kept pushing the engine like they were doing... It wouldn’t last more than a few hours.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart.” Duo gently patted the wall, “I’ll take care of ya.”

Turning his head to one side, Duo doubled over with stomach pains, as he once again threw up. Straightening up he wiped his mouth clear and started work on opening the door.

Not that that was particularly hard. Obviously these people had underestimated Gundam Pilot skill and tenacity... Or they thought he’d stay out for the count.

“Never underestimate a Pilot.” Duo sniggered, as the door started to slide open.

He cautiously slipped out of the room. It felt strange to be inside a shuttle with full gravity.

He felt the motion of his stomach rebelling against him. He gave in and threw up again.

“I should have eaten more.” Duo looked at the almost clear mess he’d thrown up.

Long experience told him that the more food he had in his stomach at the start, the longer it would take before dry heaving became an issue.

“Frag, I _hate_ drugs.” Duo muttered again.

He managed to sneak his way down to the engine room. To his surprise, and slight indignation, it was unlocked.

“Frelling, fool, Grounders!” Duo snarled, “You _always_ lock the engine-room door iffen you’ve got Grounders onboard!”

He slapped the panel by the side of the door, quickly reprogramming it to lock behind him.

He grabbed the tools attached to the wall. Wishing for his grav-board he slid under the engine.

Humming an odd phrase he tapped his foot on the ground as he started to rewire the engine.

Duo didn’t even stop as he started to hear pounding on the door, not long after he killed the engine and started to reroute the controls to the engine room.

He had just about managed to reroute the controls, cussing out the last person who serviced the shuttle as he did so, when the door finally gave way.

A rough hand grabbed his leg and pulled him out from underneath the engine.

“Hey!” Duo chirped cheerily, wires clearly in his fingers. A screwdriver trapped between his teeth.

He spat out the screwdriver into a greasy hand.  
“When was the last time you had this engine serviced? ‘Cause I’m telling you, you’ve got some serious crud in here. D’Arvit! I ain’t _seen_ an engine this bad in _years._ Not even the ones on the scrap pile. I tell you, if you paid for this recently, you got ripped off.”

The man didn’t speak. He seemed to sneer and snarl as he brought something into Duo’s line of sight. Duo frowned at it, as he continued to babble. The man acted as if Duo ought to be afraid of it. But he could see no reason to be afraid. It was simply a black or dark grey stick with three prongs on the end.

Though as it was pushed into Duo’s leg he realized why he should be wary.

Pain... More pain than he’d ever felt before. Duo had not screamed or cried in pain for many years. But now he did. He screamed and cried and longed for the pain to end.

This wasn’t electrocution. It wasn’t burning. It wasn’t stabbing. It wasn’t punching. It was a pain he’d never felt before... Like every nerve ending was screaming.

Duo welcomed the darkness as it consumed him.

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When Duo came around again he knew he was no longer on a shuttle. The taste of the air told him that it was an old satellite. Despite the fact that all satellite air was produced by the air-plant there was always some sort of metallic taste in the air, probably due to the air-ducts. The taste became more pronounced as the satellite got older. Particularly if it wasn’t serviced properly.

Duo looked down at himself. He had no restraints on. And to all appearances hadn’t even been checked over for concealed weapons.

He looked at the door. The lock was clearly visible on the inside. And there were clearly no guards outside.

“Aww man!” Duo sighed, “The guys are _never_ going to let me forget this one. I surrendered to a bunch of moronic _idiots!”_


	15. Chapter 15

Several escapes and recaptures later, Duo was starting to get the measure of his captors. He’d managed some sabotage during his short durations of freedom. To be perfectly honest, he wasn’t trying to escape just yet. Considering the quality of intelligence his captors were displaying he was simply trying to figure out a way of turning the satellite into a prison for them. _Then_ he would escape and lead the Preventers back to them.

Of course the obvious downside to that was that every time they recaught him, he got beaten up again.

The slightly less obvious upside was that Duo was _certain_ that he was managing to reduce morale… Though the other Pilots would probably ream him out for pulling more pranks than performing simple sabotage.

Duo was quite getting used to the pattern he had fallen into. And also, with all of his trips, he had gotten a fair understanding of the hierarchy of the group… Well, his trips and some rather incautious verbal baiting.

He’d also been thrown into a Zero simulator a few times. Often still dazed from his beatings for escaping. He was then forced to use the simulator until he passed out.

Duo wasn’t sure whether his captors were dumb or just plain ignorant. As it seemed to take them forever to close holes in their security… Not that Duo really minded that. He just really hated incompetence.

He had also come to the conclusion that the person in charge of the operation was nuttier that Colonel-slash-Lady Une at her worst. More egotistical than Dekim. And very, _very_ sadistic.

Duo was still shuddering over her inventive use of barbed whips. He had never thought that the day would come when he would be positively _glad_ that he was _only_ whipped into unconsciousness with a normal whip.

One of the guards that had failed to detain him had suffered a far worse fate… Duo knew the guy was dead.

Duo wasn’t quite sure how much time had passed. With his constant periods of unconsciousness he had lost all track of time. However he was _certain_ that it was over the fourteen hour mark. So the others would be looking.

He just had to hold out.

Duo was starting to worry that that was becoming his mantra. While he could usually deal with pain… It was getting repetitive. Repetitive was boring… And boring was doom.

He was fairly certain they’d jabbed him with the “pain stick” at least a dozen times by now.

And broken his arm three times.

Even _OZ_ had kept him in better nick than this.

Though he had to admit, their healers were better than the standard. It was almost as if he had never been hurt to begin with, when they had finished.

Which had lead him to wonder how much of what he saw was real…

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Duo had finally found a _competent_ captor among the large group.

He wasn’t quite sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

Good side… The guy had realized that beating Duo half to death didn’t make him co-operative… Just mouth off more.

Bad side… The guy had shackled Duo to the wall, in a seated position, arms stretched out to their full extent… Only major problem with the position was that Duo wasn’t _quite_ tall enough to actually sit.

Duo was simply waiting. He had run out of lock-picks and had no means of using them, even if he had them.

He knew that eventually someone would come for him, either to feed him, beat him or take him to the simulator again.

Until then he would rest as best he could… And store up snark for the bad guys. Wouldn’t do to run out of quips after all.

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Duo had just about lined up a new collection of snark, when he heard light footsteps approaching. Inwardly he wondered what was taking the other Pilots so long.

He also wondered how long it _had_ been. He wasn’t _exactly_ sure, given all the periods of unconsciousness he had suffered. Though he _knew_ that it was over three days since he was drugged. It always took that long for him to feel normal after drugs.

The door opened. Duo blinked his eyes furiously against the sudden flux of light.

“Back for more fun?” Duo sarcastically addressed the figure in the doorway, “Hang on… Trowa!” Duo finally recognised the hair, “You guys found me! What kept you?”  
“Sorry,” Quatre slipped past Trowa, “These guys have kept themselves pretty off the radar. I should have…”  
“Don’t you start,” Duo almost growled, “Ain’t your fault Cattie. I thought they’d kept everything pretty quiet. They’ve got a batch of Mobile Dolls. A few Mobile Suits, I think. Plus a knock-off Gundam. Looks a bit like Wing Zero, now I think about it. Didn’t see it too well… They’ve added some stuff to them I’ve never seen before. High-tech stuff. I couldn’t get my hands on a tool-kit or I’d know more.”  
“Let me get these off you.” Quatre produced a pair of lock-picks and started to undo the shackles that imprisoned Duo. “They’re a little high aren’t they?”  
“I haven’t been able to sit down.” Duo answered honestly, “Where are Hee and Wu?”  
“Outside this structure,” Quatre had managed to undo one cuff, “They’re the distraction for the escape.”  
“Oh good,” Duo sighed, before jerking up again, “What’s he doing here?” Duo was pointing at a third figure in the doorway.  
“We insisted,” Daniel shrugged, “It is partially our fault. So we insisted that we help out.”  
“Oh,” Duo shrugged slightly. Trowa’s eyes narrowed at the tiny wince that went with the movement. “Okay. Thanks, Cattie. Those cuffs were hell.” He started to rub his wrists, and bending his arms in an attempt to restore movement.  
“Let me give you a hand.” Quatre went to help Duo up.  
“Don’t!” Duo hissed. His voice tight in pain, and all the control he could muster. Quatre let go like he’d been burned. Duo broke his fall with his wrists.  
“Status?” Trowa demanded.  
“Non-operational.” Duo replied bluntly.  
“Injuries?” Quatre asked, looking Duo up and down in the dim light from the hallway.  
“Broken left leg,” Duo shrugged, “Closed, and possibly comminuted, as well as complicated. Three ribs, bruised, cracked or broken, I’m not entirely sure. Hurt like hell though. A possible concussion, I think. Apart from that, just basic bruises, cuts and burns. Worst after the legs and ribs are my wrists, possibly sprained. Really, apart from the ribs and concussion, I could fly. Still could even with the ribs, but wouldn’t want to fight if they’re cracked or worse. So I’m betting they’re bruised. They want me fight capable. In a pinch I could probably Pilot once the concussion was gone, wouldn’t like it though. G-forces play havoc on ribs. They’d have to bandage my leg, but nothing more.”  
“Are you alright?” Quatre pressed, feeling guilty that he hadn’t spotted the broken leg earlier. He could see it now, unnaturally bent. Trowa leant over Quatre to flash a light into Duo’s eyes. Looking at Quatre he shook his head; Duo didn’t have a concussion.  
“Nothing too bad,” Duo answered, “I’ve been worse, Cat. Just won’t be able to walk out of here. I’m no Heero. How long have I been here?”  
“Three days.” Daniel supplied, “Sorry. We had to search three satellites before this one.”  
“Guess I lost less time than I though.” Duo pondered for a moment.  
“Do you trust us?” Quatre looked Duo in the eyes.  
“Do you need to ask, Cattie?” Duo shrugged, “Sure, I was upset when I ran. Sure, I was scared. But I never once stopped trusting you. I just thought you wouldn’t trust me. You try having your world tipped on its head sometime.”  
“Yeah,” Quatre smiled, “It does throw you. Close your eyes, Duo. We’ll sort it from here.”

Trowa reached out and carefully pinched Duo on the neck. Duo’s muscles relaxed as he fell into an unconscious state. Trowa lay Duo flat out on the floor.  
“I’ll fetch a splint.” Quatre declared, dashing out the cell.  
“Was that necessary?” Daniel frowned.  
“It was that,” Trowa’s voice was calm and quiet, “Or gagging him. He’ll whimper in pain otherwise. And Duo… Doesn’t take kindly to gags.”  
“Better that he’s unconscious,” Quatre added, returning with what looked like part of a wooden chair, “He won’t be in as much pain. You going to set his leg?”  
“It is best to set it as quickly as possible.” Trowa nodded, as Quatre handed over his waistcoat to be torn into bandages.  
“At least it’s a closed break,” Quatre sighed, “Open, I wouldn’t want to touch without a medic. But once we’re out of here, Sally’s looking him over.”

Daniel winced as Trowa set Duo’s leg, bandaging it tightly to Quatre’s makeshift splint.  
“Don’t worry,” Quatre told Daniel, “He’s taken worse. Not sure if that’s comforting. But Duo’s tough. If necessary, I’ll tie him to the hospital bed after this. Once, Heero’s hit him for being a self-sacrificing idiot. I’ll probably want in on that as well. Duo’s loyal. But he can be an idiot.”  
“I doubt he felt that he had a choice.” Trowa countered, “Remember Duo has more practice in being a stubborn prisoner than anyone else. Quatre, give me a hand?”  
“Of course.” Quatre smiled. Together Trowa and Quatre managed to pull Duo onto Trowa’s shoulder in a fireman’s carry.  
“Will he be alright like that?” Daniel stared.  
“I’ve carried him like this before.” Trowa nodded, “Didn’t hurt him then. Just need to make sure that all the guards are distracted.”  
“I’ll tell them.” Daniel flicked his radio, “Jack, we’ve got him. Big distraction please.”

Seconds later the entire satellite seemed to shake as a shockwave swept through.

“Okay,” Daniel sighed, _“Maybe_ I should have asked for a smaller one.”


	16. Chapter 16

Moments earlier, as Jack received the signal, he nodded quickly to Wufei.

“Oh-Five to Oh-One,” Wufei murmured into another small radio, “Shindig.”  
“Affirmative.” Heero’s voice quietly replied.  
“Shindig?” Jack frowned.

Wufei simply nodded, as he pressed the detonator in his hand.

While Trowa, Quatre and Daniel had snuck into the main portion of the satellite, as clearly designated by the guards, the others had snuck around and carefully positioned explosives in the satellite.

It may have seemed a little extreme, but considering that this was the third satellite in range of the first one and that the other two had been completely empty it was justified.

Much to SG1’s surprise Heero had completely deferred about where to place the bombs and their construction to Wufei.

Jack had frowned slightly as Wufei had placed the bombs. There was a strange sort of melancholy in Wufei’s eyes. As if the boy was remembering something from a long time ago… And yet something that still hurt as keenly today as it did when it first occurred.

“Why so sad, kid?” Jack murmured, as the melancholy only got worse as they rode the shock-wave out.  
“I was unable to fly my kite this year.” Wufei muttered, “I was working. I should not have let it go unobserved.”  
“And I have _no_ idea what that means.”  
“Traditions.” Wufei replied bluntly, “Ones you could not understand the significance of.”  
“Maybe.” Jack shrugged, “But why think of that now?”  
“I always think of the past when I handle explosives.” Wufei stated, “How we are using them, reminds me more than usual.”  
“Aren’t we going to attack?” Jack asked.  
“When facing superior numbers it is best to be capable of a quick withdrawal.” Wufei declared, “While we are not in all respects unequal, and thus do not need to elude, it is best that we do not directly engage, until we are more certain of our enemy’s strengths and weaknesses.”  
“And how do we do that? You guys are pretty tight. You didn’t exactly brief us. And why am I with you, while Sam and Teal’c are with Heero?”  
“You have some skill with explosives, by your own admission. And I do not wish to totally destroy this satellite. A soldier who has destroyed a sun does not seem to be the correct choice for a more delicate operation.”  
“Would you take it better if I told you it was necessary? And that Sam actually has a very light touch with explosives?”  
“You have intelligence that you hide. And you were easily following my procedure at distributing the bombs. Carter would be more inclined to argue with me. Given our current antagonism towards each other.”  
“Do you always think this much?”  
“Yes.” Wufei replied firmly, “Heero will engage first. He will be best able to assess their skills and strengths. Teal’c has a warrior’s eye. He will notice their fighting style’s weaknesses. Carter will memorise the weaponry.”  
“And we plant bombs?”  
“We keep them off balance.” Wufei agreed, “We need to move to the Central Core.”  
“What are we going to take out there?” Jack asked, following Wufei.

But Wufei didn’t answer. Instead he dashed off, towards the central core. Or at least that’s where Jack _assumed_ they were going. He needed to sit down with a blueprint or map of a satellite, he knew. He was completely lost and confused. Yet he had to respect how the Pilots seemed to just flow from one place to another, always completely at ease as to where they were and where they were going.

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The small rescue party inside were moving quickly through the passages. So far they had successfully avoided the enemy. They had also made their way to the observation deck for the Dry Docks.

“Duo must have pitched a fit.” Were the first words out of Quatre’s mouth when he saw the Gundam-style-Mobile-Suit.  
“Why do you say that?” Daniel frowned.  
“Deathsythe’s bat-wings,” Quatre almost laughed, “On Wing Zero? That’s just wrong.”  
“I don’t follow.” Daniel was confused.  
“The Gundams were named,” Trowa realized the confusion, “Gundam 01 was called Wing Zero. 02 was Deathsythe. 03 was Heavyarms. 04 was Sandrock. 05 was Shen-long or Altron after it was upgraded.”  
“Wing Zero,” Quatre put in, “Had angel style wings. To replace those with bat-wings…”  
“Not in the best of taste.” Daniel nodded, “Any idea why they would choose Wing Zero? Out of all the five. Any particular significance?”  
“Wing Zero,” Quatre answered, “Shot the last shots in both the wars. It was also the only Gundam that had an alternative form. It could become a plane.”  
“So it was the more advanced of the Gundams.” Daniel nodded.  
“No.” Quatre protested, “Each Gundam had different strengths. Wing Zero was merely the most widely publicized. Sandrock was more designed for desert conditions and hand-to-hand. Heavyarms was more long range, preferring guns and missiles. Considering that they put Deathscythe’s wings on Wing…”  
“They’re trying to use the hyper-jammers,” Duo groaned, clearly just coming around, “But no worries.”  
“What did you do?” Quatre asked instantly, “Are you alright?”  
“Nothing’s changed,” Duo smiled up at Quatre, “They don’t have the real plans for the hyper-jammers. I tweaked them originally so that they worked. G never knew. Thanks for coming. Those guys… Weren’t going to be patient. And I was trying it.”  
“It’s okay,” Quatre gently patted Duo’s head, “We’d never leave you behind. Although you have some explaining to do.”  
“Explain what?” Duo was nervous.  
“When exactly you used the Zero system.” Trowa answered.  
“Crud,” Duo closed his eyes and hung completely limp, “I don’t suppose you would mind if I didn’t?”  
“You’ll tell.” Quatre stated firmly, his hand wrapping around Duo’s braid and tugging it slightly, “Even if we have to sit you down and do yes/no questions.”  
“Anything we need to know?” Trowa pressed.  
“The Dolls,” Duo breathed, “They’re hooked up to the Zero system. Derivation of what White Fang was using.”  
“Who controls them?” Quatre was all business.  
“You’re not going to like it.” Duo tried to stall.  
“Talk!” Quatre tugged on the braid again.  
“The Pilot of the Gundam.” Duo stated, “It’s a strange set up. I was put through a few simulations. It’s very confusing.”

Trowa halted in his movements, crouching down below the glass observation panels. Quatre moved next to the taller boy. Daniel followed, confused. Quatre’s face was slightly fearful. Trowa’s one visible eye was flicking between the blonde and the brunet, as he carefully placed Duo on the floor. Daniel, well used to reading Teal’c’s emotions, could see the horror in Trowa’s face.  
“They made you use it?” Quatre stared, “You _actually used_ it? Duo! You _know_ better than that!”  
“Locked me in the simulator.” Duo shrugged, “Every hit I took I got electrocuted. I’m no masochist. It _hurt_ Cattie. I didn’t want to.” Daniel stared as Duo’s voice seemed to get younger, “I don’t like it. I never have. It’s too easy… To let go.”  
“I know,” Quatre started to stroke Duo’s hair gently, “I know. It’s not easy to stop.”  
“This system’s _worse,”_ Duo declared, “You can’t use it Cattie. Promise me. Promise me, please!”  
“I won’t use it.” Quatre seemed to understand Duo’s frenzy. “I promise you. I won’t use the system.”  
“You can’t let Heero use it either!” Duo was frantic, “He can’t. It was bad enough for me!”  
“It’s alright,” Quatre smiled, “I won’t let Heero near it. I’ll set Wufei and Trowa on him if necessary.”  
“Thank you.” Duo breathed, before panicking again, “They can’t use it _either!_ No one should use that system! It’s even worse than Zero!”  
“Duo,” Trowa interrupted, “Close your eyes.”  
“Promise me Trowa?” Duo begged.  
“No one will use it, Duo.” Trowa stated, “Close your eyes.”

Duo complied willingly, and Trowa, once again, knocked him out using the pressure point.

“Is he alright?” Daniel asked.  
“Zero does strange things to your head.” Quatre shrugged, “It can really mess you up. You can see everyone as your enemy.”  
“We’re just lucky that Duo never followed the norm.” Trowa agreed.  
“I never would have thought he’d loose a few years.” Quatre murmured, “Figuratively speaking.”  
“You’re terrified of this system.” Daniel blinked, realizing the depths of the fear for the first time.  
“With very good reason.” Quatre nodded, “I’ve seen what it can do. We all have.”


	17. Chapter 17

Sam was having a slightly more difficult time of it than Jack or Daniel. While she was well used to reading even the slightest of movements and intentions from them, and particularly from Teal’c, as the Jaffa usually indicated his plans in his body language more than words, Heero was a different story.

It was almost as if he wasn’t used to having people fighting alongside him. A lone wolf, she equated him to in her head.

Though how the lone wolf worked so well with the other boys was something she couldn’t understand. It was almost as if he had never been _trained_ to work alongside others.

How the other boys bore it she simply could _not_ understand. In some ways his arrogance and dismissal of her skills were worse than Wufei’s.

Though she noted that as the fire-fight began and continued, he was seemingly warming to her. Small nods, she quickly realized were as worthy of note as Jack’s off-handed remarks of praise.

It was as if the entire life of Heero had revolved around fighting. To such an extent that he didn’t know how to socialize outside of a combat zone. She had noticed such introverted tendencies earlier. But had mainly put them down to shyness or a quiet nature.

What she saw now contradicted that. There was something of a fire in Heero. It had only been embers before. But now it was a roaring blaze.

She’d thought it was post-traumatic stress disorder that the boy suffered from. Far too young for it, in her mind. But it had seemed the most likely answer.

However now, she wasn’t sure. There wasn’t a single hesitation in Heero’s moves. Everything was fluid. The gun was loaded, aimed, fired without pause or hesitation.

He was comfortable.

Before he’d been… Uncomfortable in his own skin? But in the middle of a fire-fight, he was perfectly calm. She would say relaxed, but no one was relaxed in the middle of a fight.

He was at Peace.

It only made her wonder, what sort of _training_ did a boy go through to act like that in a situation like the one they were facing?

It annoyed her to some degree that she had concentrated on the mystery that was Duo… And completely missed the larger mystery right in front of her nose. They were all soldiers. All coping in different ways. All different _types_ of warriors. What had made them this way?

And would she ever know?

The skill with which Heero selected his targets was astounding. He never used more than one bullet for each assailant. Picking each target with care, but also speed.

It was necessary she noted to be careful. She dreaded to think what would happen if a stray shot hit the ‘skin’ of the satellite. She still didn’t know how strong it was.

Teal’c had also appeared wary of the ‘skin’. As he had switched from his staff-weapon to a P-450. Quite unusual for him. While his skill level with it was very high, he much preferred the staff-weapon he had grown up using.

“How many more of them _are_ there?” Sam muttered.  
“Unknown.” Heero’s eyes narrowed.  
“Rhetorical question.” Sam retorted quickly, “Daniel! Get a move on!”  
“Trying!” Daniel’s voice came over the radio.  
“Colonel?” Sam asked.  
“I don’t know where I am or what I’m doing.” Jack retorted, “I’m just following Wufei.”  
“We need to move.” Heero declared, as he rose from their current location behind some fallen buildings. “Crossfire.”  
“Agreed.” Teal’c nodded.  
“I can see some good cover over there.” Sam pointed at a near-by building.  
“I will take up position over there.” Teal’c nodded towards a building on the opposite side to Sam’s.  
“I will provide fire from above.” Heero announced.

Before Teal’c or Sam could say anything Heero had slipped backwards and away.

“Half these buildings are ruins!” Sam hissed at his vanished form, “You’ll kill yourself.”  
“We must trust HeeroYuy.” Teal’c reminded.  
“It’d be easier if he wasn’t such a lone wolf. How do the other four cope?”  
“I do not know. However they must be capable. I found it difficult to fight alongside you at first.”  
“You _compromised!”_  
“I was on _your_ planet, SamanthaCarter.” Teal’c pointed out.

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Jack was lost and confused. Wufei was confidently leading him along passageways and shafts. It was clear that they were in the ‘guts’ of the satellite. It sort of reminded Jack of the number of times he’d ended up crawling around the inside of a Ha’tak.

Though the shafts were more clearly _designed_ for someone to crawl around in them.

“Okay,” Jack muttered, “This place needs a map. How do you know where you are going?”  
“All satellites follow the same basic structural design. The only major difference are the buildings and scenery the designers choose to place inside. The internal framework is the same.”  
“Still doesn’t answer the question.”  
“I grew up on a satellite.”  
“Yeah, but I’m guessing these shafts aren’t exactly public areas… And I doubt any school trips go through them.”  
“It was necessary knowledge during the War.”

Jack fell silent and resigned himself to following Wufei as they wove through the passages and shafts on their way to their destination. As they travelled, Jack noticed that the gravity was decreasing; he was more sort of floating than walking.

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“What are we destroying?” Jack frowned as Wufei placed a carefully shaped charge on the complicated machinery in the room they had stopped at.  
“Gravity.” Wufei replied.  
“You _sure_ that’s a good idea?” Jack worried, “I mean… Won’t that cause problems for us?”  
“We know how to fight in zero-gravity.” Wufei stated confidently, “It is unlikely that our opponents will have been similarly trained.”  
“And us?” Jack raised an eyebrow.  
“You’ll adapt.” Wufei dismissed the objection.  
“You have a lot of faith in us.”  
“Judging from the few reports you have given us about the other cultures you have met, you have had to adapt quickly under stressful situations.”  
“Not to things like gravity disappearing.”

Wufei ignored the statement and finished placing the charges.

“Now we leave.” Wufei declared.

Jack, once again, found himself following in Wufei’s wake as they wove back through the passages, tunnels and shafts. Jack was slightly amazed that they hadn’t run into anyone.

He’d _never_ had such a run of good luck on a mission.

However their luck didn’t last. Just as they were crawling out of the shaft into the main section of the satellite, there was the distinctive sound of several guns being cocked.

Jack and Wufei raised their hands. Outnumbered and ambushed they didn’t have much choice.

Slowly, and cautiously they rose to their feet.

They were beckoned further out into a bit of clearing. Then completely surrounded.

The leader motioned for Wufei to hand over the item in his hand… The detonator. The leader then easily snapped the device in two.

Jack saw Wufei’s intention before the enemy… But even he was too late.

Wufei had shifted his weight onto his back foot.

Jack dove to the floor, just as Wufei’s leading foot kicked upwards, to the point where there was a perfectly straight line between the leg on the ground and the leg in the air.

However Wufei didn’t stay in that position for even a heart-beat. Almost instantly he launched himself towards the leading soldier he had disarmed with the kick.

Jack caught the falling weapon, and managed to take out some of the other soldiers with some well placed bullets before the soldiers regained their senses enough to try and return fire.

Jack rose to his feet, to find that Wufei had knocked out those soldiers closest to the one he had originally attacked, while still managing to take him down… Without a weapon.

“Kid!” Jack snapped, “Little warning next time!”  
“You reacted sufficiently.” Wufei dismissed the remark.  
“Damnit, kid!” Jack sighed, “I’m not sure if I should be complimented by your faith in my abilities or really _really_ hacked off.”


	18. Chapter 18

“Do you do things like this a lot?” Daniel asked, slightly amazed at the fluidity and ease of the movements.  
“What?” Quatre grinned, “Run through the bad guy’s lair, with an unconscious person over Trowa’s shoulder firing at minions all the way?”  
“Channelling Duo.” Trowa almost seemed to chide.  
“Sorry.” Quatre shrugged, “And in answer to your question, Daniel. This never happened to me during the War. Nor to Trowa I think.”  
“No.” Trowa agreed.  
“The only one I know of was Heero and Duo. Heero rescuing Duo. There was the Duo rescuing Heero incident… But Heero was mobile. And in the former, Duo was mostly mobile… Surprisingly to us, these sort of incidences have actually become _more_ common since the Wars.”  
“Usually we’re lugging prisoners.” Trowa reminded.  
“True… Or former hostages. But it doesn’t change anything. Wonder when Oh-Five will instigate Pegasus Sixty Six?”

Trowa simply shrugged.

“You have a _plan?”_ Daniel gasped, “And you didn’t _tell_ us?”  
“Not a plan.” Quatre countered, “Just knowledge of what we usually do. Each of us has certain habits… Certain techniques that we like to use where we can. Things that make things easier for us. Oh-Five is fond of Pegasus Sixty-Six. Has been ever since the incident where Oh-Two first used it.”  
“What is it?”  
“Something we should have thought of earlier.” Trowa declared.  
“On the left!” Quatre interrupted the conversation, turning to face the next threat.

For a few moments there was only shooting and ducking. None of the rescuers had _time_ for anything else.

Then the radio crackled to life, during a brief lull.

“Oh-Five to all points. The bridle is broken.”

Daniel stared at the radio for a second. The comment was apparently completely random. And yet was of such importance that it was worth breaking the radio silence they had maintained for so long.

A single click came over the radio, barely a heart beat later.

Daniel wished he had more time to ponder the meaning of the phrase, but renewed gunfire made it impossible.

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Outside the main structure, Sam and Teal’c were also partially pondering the cryptic message, as they fired at the enemy.

Sam was having to pick her shots more carefully now. The clips she had started with had dwindled rapidly, leaving her with only two clips left.

“Oh-One to all.” Heero’s voice came over the radio, “Fall back to Rose-Seven.”

Sam double clicked her radio in reply, maintaining the order of radio silence wherever possible.

A second double click confirmed Teal’c’s reception of the message.

Two long clicks was someone else’s confirmation.

For a while there was silence over the radio, as Sam moved cautiously from cover to cover on her steady retreat to the position designated Rose-Seven.

Then the radio crackled into life again.

“Oh-Three, Oh-Four, respond. Fall back to Rose-Seven. Confirm.”

There was a second pause, as Sam met up with Teal’c. Both of them worried about Daniel.

A short click followed by a long click came over their radios, almost immediately followed by a long click, then a short click.

Then radio silence again. Sam wondered how Heero knew who was who for a moment, but then decided that the sequence of clicks was obviously a secret code between them.

Much like how the first designated fall back point had been declared immediately Rose-Seven. And none of the fall back points had used any of the numbers one through to six.

She could understand to a point why one through five weren’t used. They were their code-numbers. But six? It seemed out of place. It didn’t fit the pattern. Five colonies. Five boys. Five numbers…

Sam shook her head to remove the thoughts. She didn’t need them right then. It was too dangerous.

She hoped the retreat wouldn’t cause harm to Daniel and the boys inside. But really it was the only option. If they stayed any longer they would be over-run. One prisoner was better for them than four.

And the Gundam Boys had _sworn_ that they would not leave the satellite without Duo.

That was one promise she believed in. And even if she didn’t, she knew that Jack wouldn’t leave without Duo. For some reason the Colonel had become rather fond of the braided boy. She could partially understand why, the boy was like a miniature Jack, only with some of Daniel’s and hers personality traits thrown in for good measure. She snorted, thinking about the upbringing of any child born of the SG1 team… That would be one messed up kid.

Thinking about it, Quatre was almost like a less geeky Daniel, she realized. A Daniel with some of Jack’s mentality thrown in on occasion, but mainly a Daniel. A fact that she didn’t think Daniel had picked up on, though the two of them could spend several hours in discussion about various cultures… Mainly Quatre talking about his own and Daniel drawing parallels between that and his own experiences of cultures on Earth.

As she made her way through the satellite, she tried to compare the other Gundam Boys to her team-mates.

Heero was Teal’c. Albeit a slightly smaller version. But he was clearly a warrior through and through. He was also more of a leader than Teal’c often showed himself to be. Though that could be because Teal’c deferred to Jack out of respect for the fact that the Colonel had achieved what Teal’c could not all those years ago. And Teal’c had shown that he _could_ lead, but only took command when necessary. Rather like Heero did, with Quatre as his Jack to a lesser extent.

Wufei had all of Daniel’s intelligence along with some of her own. Though it was clear that Wufei’s studies had concentrated mainly on Law and History rather than the sciences. He also had Teal’c’s taciturn nature down, up to a point, except when he let hers and Daniel’s passion come through. But there was something else… Something in his eyes that reminded her of Jack, but only at certain times. Both of them only showed it at certain times. She didn’t know why or what it was. Thinking back, she realized her father showed it too, at points. And so did Heero.

Trowa was all of Teal’c’s silence and stillness. But with Daniel’s leaps of logic hidden behind that curtain of hair. Jack’s practical nature peeked out as well, along with the occasional wise-crack that often had Sam double-taking, checking that it had come from Trowa in the first place.

A very odd bunch, all in all. Sam decided. Not unlike her own team in that regard. Odd… But they _worked._

The realization came to her just as she met up with Teal’c and Heero. And only seconds before they were under concentrated fire again.

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“A _bridle?”_ Jack stared at Wufei.  
“The detonator.” Wufei shrugged, “Oh-One, Oh-Three and Oh-Four carry spares. I will need time to retune to the correct frequency.”  
“You _still_ want to take out the gravity?”  
“Tactical advantage.” Wufei retorted.  
“For you, yes.” Jack argued, “For us… Not so much.”

The argument didn’t go any further. More of the enemy seemed to appear out of the woodwork, all opening fire, causing any further discussion to be sidelined in favour of surviving the onslaught.

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Inside the building, things weren’t going well either. The original plan had been for the group to get out the way they had gotten in… Through the ventilation ducts. Obviously given Duo’s condition that wasn’t a viable option.

They were pinned and sustaining heavy fire.

“Quatre.” Trowa stated glancing at the blond, as they sheltered in a small room.  
“I know.” Quatre nodded, before grabbing the radio, “This is Oh-Four to all points. Stragen has failed. Instigating Velvet.”  
“What’s that plan?” Daniel frowned.  
“Surrender.” Quatre shrugged, “We’ll break out later, when they’re not expecting it.”  
“That’s what _Duo_ was doing!” Daniel yelped.  
“We don’t have a choice.” Trowa replied softly, “It is that or death. There is no plausible way out of this situation.”  
“While the others stay free, we have a better than evens chance.” Quatre declared, “No one’s leaving without the others.”  
“Alright.” Daniel gave in, “We surrender.”

The two boys were right. There wasn’t another option available to them.

The small group surrendered. Duo was taken from them and carried away.

“I hope this works.” Daniel murmured.


	19. Chapter 19

Quatre, Trowa and Daniel were pushed into a cell.  
“Welcome to the party.” Jack remarked as he sat down on the floor, having risen to watch the doorway, “How are you, Spacemonkey?”  
“I’m alright, Jack.” Daniel shrugged, “You? We thought you were still free.”  
“Ambush. We’re fine.” Sam replied, motioning to herself, Teal’c, Heero and Wufei, “But the Colonel has a concussion.”

“Oh-Three, Oh-Four,” Heero snapped, “Status?”  
“Mission functional.” Both boys replied in sync.  
“Oh-Two status?” Heero demanded.  
“Physically flight capable.” Quatre responded, “Separated from us at instigation of Velvet.”  
“Broken leg and ribs.” Trowa elaborated slightly, “No concussion. Usual injuries from interrogation.”  
“Mentally?” Wufei pressed.  
“Multiple exposures to a derivation of Zero,” Quatre answered, “Combines the Gundam Version with the version used by White Fang.”  
_“Willing_ use?” Both Wufei and Heero were showing slight indicators of shock.  
“Simulator, where blows on the Gundam are replicated on the user via electrocution.” Trowa supplied.  
“Mentally he’s regressing.” Quatre shrugged, “Not sure if that’s an advantage or not.”  
“Why would it be an advantage?” Jack snarled, “He’d just be a child!”  
“One who has fought for as long as he can remember.” Quatre countered, “And it’s not constant. From what little I’ve seen it only occurs when he’s thinking about the system.”  
“With some luck he’ll regress and stick at fifteen.” Sam suggested, “Back when the fighting was the worst.”  
“That may not be the advantage you might think, onna.” Wufei sniffed.  
“Why?” Jack frowned, “He’d know you guys. You fought together… You must have trained together.”  
“Incorrect assumption.” Trowa put in, “Each of us was trained separately and only aware of one Gundam being sent. Operational security.”  
“Duo shot me,” Heero added, “Twice.”  
“What?” Daniel stared.  
“He told me about that.” Quatre nodded, “And his logic was sound. Pretty girl in a party dress against a boy with a gun. He didn’t shoot to kill. Only to give the girl time to run.”  
“Why were you threatening a girl, anyway?” Sam frowned.  
“We were sent to Earth with two sets of instructions.” Wufei shrugged.  
“Don’t worry about the colonies; destroy the Alliance and OZ first.” Quatre almost quoted.  
“No one shall see a Gundam and live.” Trowa added.  
“She had seen a Gundam.” Heero stated, “She had also associated me with the Gundam. She was a security risk.”  
“What happened to the girl?” Jack asked nervously.  
“She was Miss Relena.” Quatre replied.

All further conversation was halted as the cell door opened and Duo was almost thrown in.

Quatre moved to check him over. While the other boys merely watched.

They only moved once the door was closed.

“Oh-Two status?” Heero’s voice was slightly softer than earlier, as he approached Duo carefully.  
“Not that much worse than when Cattie asked me,” Duo shrugged, “Though I think they broke an arm this time.”  
“Yes,” Quatre nodded, “They did.”  
“I think they’re still mad at me.” Duo remarked as the others picked him up from the floor.  
“Duo,” Quatre smiled slightly indulgently, “You keep on riling them up, if I know you. I’d be surprised if they _weren’t_ mad at you.”  
“Yes,” Duo shrugged. This was actually quite an impressive feat, considering that he had one arm carefully slung over Heero’s shoulder, and both Wufei and Heero’s arms wrapped around his waist to hold him up, as they moved to the far corner of the room.

“But they usually deal with injuries that could stop me from Piloting,” Duo continued, “Last time they broke my arm, they zapped me with this weird, glowing thing.”  
“They _what?”_ Jack was both startled and worried, “Duo, what do you know?”  
“Not much,” Duo shrugged, “I think you know everything I do.”  
“Well I _don’t!”_ Jack snapped, “Who have you seen? What have they said? What did they look like? What is their agenda?... And what _technology_ are they using?”  
“Their plan is to conqueror the Sphere.” Duo replied slightly in shock at the tone of Jack’s voice, “What does any evil megalomaniac want to do?”  
“Who is running this show?” Jack demanded, his tone clipped and almost on the edge of growling.

Duo glanced at the other Gundam Boys, as if seeking advice about what to do.

All four nodded and Heero affirmed the action.  
“Oh-Two, report. Complete.”

Duo rolled his neck slightly as if getting a crick out of it, before he spoke.  
“Crazy lady running the show, called Loshati. Three levels of personnel. Slaves. Guards. And something that hasn’t been named near me. Top level chosen for strength and loyalty, _not_ brains.

“Mission: conquer and rule the Sphere. All must worship her.

“Weaponry: Faux-Gundam based on Wing Zero, but with Deathscythe’s wings, equipped with Zero system. Several Taurus suits. Two to three dozen Mobile Dolls running off the Zero system controlled by Faux-Gundam Pilot.

“Initial plan was for original leader, Loviatar, to use the Faux-Gundam. But Zero system worked its crazy magic and she died. Exact method unknown. Several of the top level were next to try… All now dead.

“Decision was made to locate a Zero Master… They found me.

“Technology: three-pronged pain sticks; some sort of weird healing device; several blasters. Possibly more, but I haven’t seen it.

“Security: generally lousy. They are uninventive. But good at what they know. I don’t know the route out. And as of yet, have not managed to exit the base… First couple of times I got distracted by sabotage.”

He smiled slightly, as if embarrassed. Daniel didn’t fail to notice the slightly tolerant smiles that briefly danced across the Gundam Boys’ faces.

“Leader,” Quatre instructed, “Details.”  
“Female,” Duo obeyed, “Six foot one, six foot two. Blonde. Long hair, about mid-back. Not tied up. Weird glowing eyes. Half-dressed. Has a thing for inflicting pain. Seems to think I’ll obey her if she keeps on hurting me. Freaky weird voice. Much lower than it should be. Likes whips. _Very_ good at using them.”

No one missed the shiver Duo tried to hide with the last phrase.

“What was her relationship to Loviatar?” Daniel asked.  
“Loviatar was her mother,” Duo shrugged, “At least I _think_ that’s what they said. She mentioned that she was her mother’s only daughter and the worst of them all. Not that made any sense to _me._ She’s more than slightly crazy… I mean she makes Lady-slash-Colonel Une look _sane!”_  
“Loviatar was the Finnish Goddess of Death,” Daniel murmured, “Cruel. Said to be the worst of Tuoni’s children. Blind. Ugly both inside and out. Legend said that she had nine sons, each one named for a disease, such as cancer. There is only one record of a daughter. But the girl was never named…”  
“I think she just was, Spacemonkey.” Jack retorted.  
“Do you know something we don’t?” Quatre frowned.  
“He just described a Goa’uld.” Sam supplied.  
_“Crud!”_ Duo swore, “You’re frelling sure aren’t you? Damnit! Why didn’t I see it? I mean, you gave me all the stuff to watch out for… And I completely _missed_ it! If I had known… If I had _slagging_ known!”  
“You probably wouldn’t have done anything differently.” Jack reminded.  
“I would have got a fragging message _out!”_ Duo snapped, “Then you would have been _prepared!_ This is all my fault!”  
“No,” Wufei shook his head, “It is not. The fault lies with those who captured us. Your actions up until this point have been Honourable and Just. _She_ is the one who has besmirched her Honour. That she believes we would be so _weak_ so as to not retaliate and defend that which we have worked so hard to obtain is an Injustice and an Insult to our Pride. We have already defended our Peace from a full-frontal attack once. And many times since from less developed plans… We will not bow down. We will not serve another. We will stand. And we will fight for Honour and Justice and Peace.

“And we will _win!”_  
“You can see why we use him for the inspirational speeches,” Duo managed to quip. “Mine are usually littered with too many jokes for anyone to take seriously. Quatre is more used to addressing either the Maganacs, who would walk into Hell for him, or stockholders… Heero and Trowa don’t _do_ speeches. Some days we’re lucky to get a battle-plan out of them.”

“Now we know our enemy,” Quatre returned to the main topic, “We need to get the word out.”  
“And _fast!”_ Sam agreed, “The Goa’uld have ways of actually controlling people to do their wills. She may loose her patience.”  
“This is patient?” Quatre breathed in shock, torn between staring at Sam and staring at Duo’s injuries.  
“For a Goa’uld, yes.” Sam nodded sadly.  
“How powerful _are_ these techniques?” Trowa asked.  
“Another version…” Daniel looked embarrassed, “Enslaved the entire male contingency of our base.”  
“So about seventy percent?” Duo pressed.  
“Ninety… Five.” Jack confessed, “Not one of our finer moments.”  
“How’d you solve it?” Duo was curious, and also nervous. Being controlled was not something he was looking forward to. Any tips to prevent it were welcomed.  
“The women were immune,” Daniel supplied, “They managed to fix everything.”  
“We’ve never gotten the exact details.” Jack shrugged.  
“We didn’t fancy getting court-marshalled.” Sam pointed out.  
“And they didn’t inquire further?” Quatre frowned.  
“We have a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy for a lot of situations in the SGC. Saves the General from worrying too much. The stress isn’t doing his ulcers any good as it is.” Jack replied.  
“And some of these situations are?” Wufei frowned.  
_“Exactly_ what Teal’c and Jack did in a three month long time-loop, of about twelve hours.” Daniel supplied.  
“Why the Asgard are only allowed decaffeinated drinks.” Sam added.  
“What it is Sam’s building in her basement,” Jack stated, “Though the betting on that one is huge.”  
“The incident where Bra’tac and I went to the local cinema off base without informing anyone.” Teal’c put in.  
“The time Daniel went crazy.” Jack muttered.  
“I wasn’t crazy,” Daniel sighed, “You just thought I was.”  
“Anything and everything Daniel saw and heard when he was both intangible and invisible.” Sam supplied.  
“Why all written reports referring to events on certain dates are delayed.” Jack nodded.  
“Big holidays?” Trowa asked, partially curious. After all, no one was going anywhere for a while.  
“Big game days,” Jack shrugged, “And ‘Talk Like A Pirate Day’. All reports have to be transcribed out of Pirate.”  
“The fifth time we blew up the science labs.” Sam confessed, “I’m not going to report that the Trekkies and the Star-Wars nuts got into it. With one trying to build a teleporter and the other a lightsabre.”  
“The Indianna Jones party.” Daniel managed to look guilty.  
“Times six through to nineteen that Sergeant Siler landed himself in the hospital.” Jack looked away.  
“What _exactly_ Sergeant Siler did to Senator Kinsley.” Sam snickered at the memory.  
“The thirteen times SergeantSiler has fixed highly important and delicate pieces of machinery with only duct tape, chewing gum and paper clips.” Teal’c seemed slightly amused.  
“Back on topic,” Jack instructed, having decided that the Pilots were calmed down a bit more.

Though it was hard to tell. But Duo was breathing decidedly easier.

“Does anyone have any suggestions?” Jack continued.  
“You are the experts in this area.” Heero pointed out, “I would like to hear your opinions first.”  
“What are our assets?” Sam asked.  
“One Assassin. One Thief. One Clown. One Businessman. One Scholar,” Duo started to list, “One Soldier. One Archaeologist. One Scientist. One Free Jaffa. Verses her and all her legions. I’d put the odds in our favour.”  
“Like the way you think, kid.” Jack smirked, “But Carter meant more on the weapons’ side of things.”  
“And how to get out of here.” Daniel agreed.  
“Your lock-picks, Duo?” Quatre queried.  
“Kept on getting confiscated.” Duo replied quietly, “I’m all out. I’m going to have to make some new ones.”  
“We’ll get them back.” Wufei promised, “I swear to you Maxwell, we’ll get them back.”  
“They broke some of them,” Duo countered softly, “Stuck some of the pieces into me to punish me. I don’t know what happened to them after that.”

“What is so important about lock-picks?” Sam frowned, noticing the sadness on Duo’s face and the sympathy on the others’.  
“Duo made them,” Trowa replied, “Two sets out of parts of each of the different Gundams. Ten special sets. He gave us each a set of our respective Gundam, and kept the others for himself.”  
“He doesn’t carry all of them at all times.” Quatre shrugged, “But they are special… Duo doesn’t own much… By his choice. But he has always carried lock-picks for as long as I’ve known him.”

“Anyone else got anything?” Duo asked.  
“They were very through.” Teal’c pointed out.  
“Not quite.” Quatre smirked as he took his belt off.

SG1 watched as the blond boy pulled the seam apart slightly to reveal a slender and strong cord.  
“A garrotte wire.” Jack breathed, “Good thinking!”  
“Habit.” Quatre shrugged.

Trowa slid his hand down the back of his turtle-neck and removed a knife.

Wufei removed his jacket and pulled a short stick from the back. A quick flick and a short, slender baton was in his hand.

“What about your gun, Heero?” Duo queried.

Heero just looked blankly at him.

“They _are_ good.” Duo murmured, “I mean to get the gun out of Spandex Space…”  
“But they missed all the rest.” Daniel pointed out.  
“These are the last resort weapons.” Wufei replied, “I have not had to use this, ever before. To Commander Une it is abhorrent that any of her Preventers be unarmed in _any_ situation.”  
“Particularly the top ones.” Trowa added.  
“And particularly after the Celebration Ball fiasco.” Duo snickered.  
“We agreed not to talk about that.” Wufei was disdainful.  
“You mean Une-lady did.” Duo grinned.  
“Put them away.” Heero ordered, “We’ll pick our moment.”  
“We’ll have to,” Quatre sighed, “With limited weapons, most meant for close quarters… We do not have the advantage.”  
“You’ll think of something.” Duo countered, “You always do.”  
“As do you.” Quatre smiled.  
“Not this time.” Duo shook his head,” My thinking is compromised. You _know_ that. Zero’s mucking me around. I can’t make decisions… You can’t let me.”  
“At some point,” Jack sighed, “I’d like a straight answer about what this Zero system actually is.”

Four heads snapped to glower at him.  
“I’m not saying right now.” Jack defended himself, “But all you’ve done so far is drop hints and cryptic comment. I don’t want to have to go through the entire ‘Da Vinci Code’ just to get an answer.”  
“Da Vinci Code, sir?” Sam frowned.  
“I saw the film.” Jack protested.


	20. Chapter 20

“The system predicts what will happen next.” Heero supplied, “You can counter moves that have not yet been made. However it also directly interfaces with the user’s brain. The mental stress can drive the user insane. It can fool the user into confusing both friend and foe.”  
“It’s hell.” Duo added, “You’ll kill your friends and believe it was the right thing to do. You’ll keep on fighting your enemy, until there is no one left… And then it will create enemies for you… Until you are so overwhelmed the only option is self detonation.”  
“And you can’t fight it… It plays on your fears and your weaknesses.” Wufei murmured.  
“It’s inside your head… There’s no escape.” Trowa stated.  
“A casual user will eliminate everyone around them.” Quatre finished, “A Master will annihilate his enemies… But he will still have to have gone through the casual user stage first.”  
“Then why invent it?” Sam demanded, “Why build it? Why use it?”  
“The Lords of Pestilence were never particularly sane.” Duo shrugged.  
“We didn’t know what we were building.” Quatre added.  
“And it is addictive.” Heero finished, “To have that much power…”  
“Okay, so you’ve all used it.” Jack noted.  
“Yeah.” Duo nodded, “A Gundam is dangerous to pilot. Add in Zero… And it’s a death-trap.”  
“About that Duo.” Quatre turned on the braided boy, “When did you use Zero? And _why?”_  
“After ‘Fei and I escaped and split up, I had to fix Deathsythe. I got nabbed by the crazy OZ guy.”  
“Which one?” Trowa managed to ask with a completely straight face.  
“Good point.” Duo agreed after a pause, “There were so many. The crazy guy who thought he _could_ be a Gundam Pilot. The one obsessed with Zero.”  
“Trant?” Heero suggested.  
“I don’t know.” Duo shrugged, “He conked me on the head and I woke up in Zero. After a bit, he ejected me. Had a go himself. Died.”  
“Is that the usual outcome?” Daniel asked.  
“Yeah.” Quatre nodded, “Zero kills people. Gundams kill people. Like Duo said… Death-trap. No wonder these guys went looking for a Pilot.”  
“What did you sabotage?” Wufei demanded.  
“I never made it to the Cylinder,” Duo declared, “Mainly dealt with their subroutines. Rewired the Dry-Docks’ hatches. Need a password now. External only. I mucked about with the escape pods… They don’t work, now. Environmental controls set to decrease temp… Would have increased it… But judging by how these guys dress it wouldn’t have annoyed them… Killed the surveillance system… Couldn’t get to grav.”  
“Anything else?” Jack pressed.  
“You mean apart from the sound-system and vid-screens?” Duo snorted, “Let’s just say there’s a _reason_ they’ve all got holes in them right now.”  
“Subtle.” Trowa smiled slightly.  
“I thought so.” Duo grinned, “It was one of my saner moments… Or my crazier, depending how you look at it.”  
“Get some rest.” Heero ordered, “We move soon.”  
“Why not now?” Daniel asked.  
“We are tired.” Heero sunk down against a wall, seemingly getting comfortable. The other Pilots copied him.  
“We stand a better chance, if we are well rested.” Quatre agreed.  
“In addition,” Wufei added, “Our chance has not yet come. We will be better able to escape if Maxwell is fully functional. Given our captors earlier preferences for him to be operational they will eventually heal him once again. Personally, I would far rather that Maxwell _walk_ out of here than we have to expend energy in conveying him.”  
“Love you too, Fei.” Duo yawned.

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After about two hours Duo seemed to wake up. Despite his injuries he began to lever himself to his feet, using both walls in the corner.

“Easy kid!” Jack moved to help him, while the other Pilots simply watched, though it was clear that Quatre at least was worried.  
“I’m fine.” Duo shrugged Jack off, “I’ve gotta do this. They might decide not to heal me. If I can’t stand, I can’t walk. If I can’t walk, I can’t get out of here on my own two feet.”  
“You’ve got a broken leg.” Jack countered.  
“I can still sling an arm over a shoulder and walk out that way.” Duo replied, “Look… I’m not a child. I may look like one. I may be the same age as one… _Chronologically._ But you grow up fast on L2. I haven’t been a child since I started living on my own on the streets. I wasn’t much more than eight then. Jack… There’s an old saying among Sweepers…

“When you can’t fly anymore, you run. When you can’t run anymore, you crawl. And when you can’t crawl anymore, you find someone to carry you. But you never stop moving forward. Because when you stop moving forward you’re dead.

“I’ve left a lot of bodies behind, while moving forward. I _have_ to be able to look after myself. Because if I can’t do that, how can I protect what I have now? Look, the guys get it. I need to be able to help myself. Because if I can’t… I’m only one step away from dead. And I won’t let myself do that.”

“We’ll carry him if we have to.” Heero shrugged, his voice not pitched loud enough for Duo to hear, “Just easier to let him be stubborn. We’ll win eventually.”  
“What do you mean?” Daniel asked.  
“We’re all stubborn,” Quatre shrugged, “We’re all fiercely independent. It’s… _Hard_ to rely on someone else. It’s hard to understand that we’re not alone. We can rely on each other to a certain extent.”  
“But Sally and Noin said you watched each others’ backs?” Sam frowned.  
“We do.” Quatre nodded, “The problem is that we don’t _let_ ourselves rely on other people. We’re learning to. But until we learn to trust that our backs will be protected, no matter what the circumstances… We’ll fight as Duo is… Fight for our independence. We know we _need_ each other. But it’s just taking that last step. We know that in a fight, we’ll be okay. We’ll have the others watching out for us. We can cope with War and fights… It’s _Peace_ we have the issues with.”  
“We are Children of War.” Trowa stated, “Peace is strange to us.”

Duo had managed to walk a couple of hobbling steps away from the walls on his own, when a sound from the doorway caught everyone’s attention. They stood up.

Apart from Duo, who fell down.

Some guards came in. They moved determinedly towards Duo, who tried to get back to his feet, to face them down.

The rest of the prisoners tried to block, but it was clear that the guards wouldn’t stop until they retrieved Duo.

“Stand down.” Duo managed to order.  
“No, Duo.” Quatre countered.  
“Stand _down!”_ Duo snapped, “They won’t stop till they get me. And the more you fight and get hurt now, the less you’ll be able to do later, when it’s _time_ to fight back.”  
“Maxwell.” Wufei snarled.  
“He’s right.” Jack pointed out, “It’s not a surrender. Merely a regrouping.”  
“You will never escape. You cannot defy the Goddess’ will. All will bow down befo…”  
“Yadda, yadda, yadda.” Duo mocked, as he managed to stand once more, “Jeeze! Get a new song already!”

The leading guard’s hand snapped out and slapped Duo’s face, causing the boy to fall back down again.

“You will _not_ disrespect our Queen!”  
“Get used to it.” Duo snapped back, “It’s all I’ve been doing since I worked out who was running this rocket and shuttle show!”

Jack struggled to hold back a snort. Duo couldn’t stand on his own. Couldn’t fight, and yet was _still_ verbally fighting back.

Duo started to try and stand once again, using the corner walls and his one good arm, to get his good leg underneath him.

But he was not given enough time, rough hands grabbed him and hauled him from the room. The others watched as Duo struggled to get his legs under him.

“Can I make a trip to the zappy, glowy thing first?” Duo chirped, “Only I don’t think I can pilot like this. I kinda need my arm… Slag it! I said I _need_ that arm! I didn’t say tear it off! Watch the merchandise, mate!”

The door slammed closed on Duo’s diatribe, just as he started to divert into what Daniel knew had to be Sweeper.

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For two hours they remained in the room. Daniel amused himself by watching the Pilots. Or rather studied them.

Trowa was standing, leaning against a wall, his arms crossed over his chest, his head lowered.

Wufei was sitting in a lotus position, apparently completely calm and at ease.

Heero was sitting propped against the wall, one knee curled up to his chest, the other leg stretched out in front of him.

Quatre was the only one who looked remotely concerned. The blond kept worrying at his lip, his teeth almost drawing blood. He had both knees pulled up to his chest, and his hands were on the opposite shoulders, providing his chin some place to rest.

Daniel noticed that at least once every five minutes each of the others would have flicked their eyes to Quatre, relaxing slightly once they took in his presence.

Daniel was almost certain that it wasn’t Quatre’s _presence_ itself that reassured them. More his posture…

It was like they were reading Quatre. And that Quatre was aware of something they were not.

Occasionally Quatre would start rocking; when that happened the next person who looked at him didn’t stop looking at him, until about ten seconds after Quatre stopped rocking.

Eventually Quatre raised his head, and allowed his arms to slide down his legs. He cocked his head on one side, frowning slightly, but no longer worrying at his lip.

“Incoming.” Trowa announced quietly, “Oh-Two not present.”

Trowa hadn’t even _moved._ The other three didn’t move either.

About two minutes later, Teal’c’s head lilted onto one side.

Half a minute after that Daniel heard footsteps approaching the door.

SG1 rose to their feet, as did Heero, Quatre and Wufei. Trowa still didn’t move.

As the door opened, Trowa _still_ didn’t move. If it wasn’t for the fact that Trowa was still upright, Jack would believe that the former clown was dead.

“The Goddess desires your presence.” The leading Jaffa declared as he entered.

Glancing at each other, SG1 decided to go along with it peacefully. It wasn’t exactly as if they were in a position to argue.

The Pilots didn’t even seem to look at each other. They simply fell into a formation, Trowa _finally_ pushing himself off the wall, taking the rear position.

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The throne chamber was pretty much the standard as far as SG1 was concerned. Elaborate, ornate and _way_ overdone.

The Go’auld was easily identified, seeing as she was sitting on her throne, her long blonde hair draped around her. Her golden eyes clearly visible.

She was also wearing very little that actually concealed anything… Though she did have a good figure, Sam had to admit.

What worried everyone was what was _beside_ her.

Duo was kneeling next to the throne. The Go’auld’s hand on his head. His hands were behind him. His head tilted down, so that his bangs hid his face from their sight.

He seemed to be perfectly at peace and calm. Not a single muscle in his body was tense or fighting against the position.


	21. Chapter 21

“Oh-Two!” Heero snapped, “Status?”  
“Slagged off!” The retort was sharp and filled with anger, contrasting directly with his appearance. Duo did not raise his head though.  
“Elaborate!” Wufei instructed, even as a blow landed on Heero for daring to speak in front of the ‘Queen’.  
“You think I _like_ being chained up?” Duo snarled, “Because I don’t know what kind of kinky stuff _you’re_ into Fei… But this ain’t my thing.”  
“But it is the desire of your Goddess,” The Go’auld spoke, “And therefore it is your desire, my little Angel of Death.”

It was now clear by the increasing tension in Duo’s neck that the only reason he was still staring at the floor was the hand on his head. He was simply not strong enough to overcome it.

 _“Never!”_ Duo snapped, “You only bound me, because I kept trying to _kill_ everyone in my way. And even then it took you six slagging attempts to think that it might be a good idea to bind my hands _behind_ me. It took you three more, before you started chaining my frelling legs together. Stupid bimbo Grounder!”

Daniel blinked at what _had_ to be swear words easily flowing out of Duo’s mouth. It seemed that despite first appearances, Duo could swear as if it were his national sport.

The Go’auld moved her hand so that it was now under Duo’s chin. She tilted it up to look into his eyes. Amber met Amethyst. Gold clashed with Steel.  
“I am your Queen.” She declared, “You will learn to serve me with joy. To exact my Justice on all. To protect me. To be my Messenger of Death… My Dark Angel.”  
“Go to Hell!” Duo growled, “Listen bitch! There’s only two reasons I ain’t dead already. Heaven won’t have me. And Hell’s too afraid I’ll take over. I’m no slagging angel. I’m a Demon. I’m Shinigami! There’s no way in the entire frelling Universe that I will _ever_ serve you!”

He then spat in her face.

She lashed out in anger, back-handing him, so that he fell off the cushion he was arranged on and landed on his front.

His bonds were now clearly visible, connecting his hands and his feet together, leaving no wriggle room. It was easy to see why he hadn’t bothered to strain against them; it wasn’t worth it. He had no way of getting free.

“You will learn your place, in time.” The Queen snapped, “And you will worship at my feet. As will the rest of this puny world. You will _all_ worship the Great Loshati.”  
“Go to Hell.” Duo snarled, “And take the rest of your moronic minions with you. You’re no God! There’s only one God I believe in… And you ain’t him! And I don’t worship. I simply believe. So frell off and _Die!”_  
“I am immortal! I will never die.”  
“Everything that lives dies. And so will you. Even if it is not me who kills you… You will die. And I will waiting for you in Hell!”  
“Duo.” Quatre’s voice advised caution.  
“Awww, she ain’t gonna kill me, Cat.” Duo grinned at the others, showing an almost mercurial change in temperament, “I’ve still got to Pilot that _Abomination_ of hers.”  
“Take him to the simulator!” The Queen snapped, “My Angel of Death _must_ be ready to serve me.”

Duo was carried out of the room, still hurling insults and abuse.

“Well, the kid’s got guts.” Jack breathed, “Not a lot of sense… But he’s got guts. Rule One is don’t taunt the Go’auld.”  
“ColonelO’Neill,” Teal’s almost frowned, “If I recall correctly Rule One was initially started because of your tendency to antagonise the Go’auld.”  
“He’s right, Jack.” Daniel agreed, “In Duo’s place you would have done just the same thing.”  
“Silence!” The Go’auld shouted, “You should be grateful that for now I will spare your pitiful lives, so that you may observe my glorious triumph! Even you, the traitorous Jaffa and the infamous Tau’ri SG1.”  
“Do you think we could skip this part?” Jack sighed, “I _hate_ the bad guy crow.”  
“Sir,” Sam shrugged, “We should at least pay _some_ attention. We might learn something. And at least she managed to dress for the part of Evil Empress.”  
“True,” Jack agreed, “But she’s already lost part of her image. I mean with Duo kneeling next to her, she even had a ‘pet’.”  
“I wouldn’t classify her outfit as evil,” Daniel frowned, “More skanky. I think the Royal Dressmaker forgot that the two are not mutually inclusive.”  
“She has also failed to adhere to the ‘Evil Overlord List’.” Teal’c put in.  
“Evil Overlord List?” Quatre blinked.  
“A list someone on our world complied, naming all the classic mistakes fictional evil villains make.” Sam stated, “It’s quite amusing reading.”  
“Jack got us into the habit of noting what mistakes the villains make.” Daniel added, “It’s quite addictive after a while.”  
“Can we have a copy?” Quatre asked.

Everyone turned to look at him.

 _“What?”_ Quatre shrugged, “You _know_ that Duo’s going to want it when he finds out about it. I’m just pre-empting.”  
“What will you trade for it?” Jack asked.  
“A good fiction book.” Trowa suggested after a pause.  
“History or science.” Jack countered.  
“The list is based on fiction.” Trowa argued, “Fiction for fiction.”  
“Another one of Duo’s recipes?”  
“Fiction for fiction.” Trowa was firm.  
“It’d better be a good one.” Jack grumbled.

Trowa only smiled slightly in reply.

“I am your _Queen!”_ Loshati yelled, “You _will_ worship me!”  
“Not now and not ever.” Sam dismissed her casually, “I’ve seen Gods fall. Suns explode. You’re nothing special.”  
“Lady,” Jack laughed, “You need a sanity check. We’re SG1. We’ve faced down Ra. We’ve defied Apophis, Ball, Osiris, Sokar. We’re feared across the Universe. You don’t scare us.”  
“You are a False God.” Teal’c declared.  
“Shol’va!”  
“Insult?” Quatre turned to Teal’c.  
“Traitor.” Daniel supplied quietly.  
“Duo would say that it’s not very imaginative.” Wufei murmured.  
“It’s not.” Jack shrugged, “Most Go’aulds aren’t that imaginative.”  
“Might explain Duo’s disdain.” Heero announced, “He quite likes innovation.”  
“Something to pit his wits against.” Quatre agreed.  
“I can understand that.” Jack shrugged, “Though sometimes I just like something I can batter into submission.”

A weapon smashed into Jack’s jaw. The force of the blow was enough to knock him to the floor.

“Silence!” The Go’auld screamed, “Jaffa, take them to their cell!”

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“Well,” Quatre finished running his fingers over Jacks’ jaw-bone, “I don’t _think_ it’s broken. Might be fractured, but I can’t really tell.”

They were back in the cell.

“That went well.” Jack spoke up.  
“Where were you?” Quatre muttered, “I’ve had better Stockholder meetings… And better family reunions.”  
“Family reunions?” Sam blinked.  
“Twenty nine sisters.” Quatre shrugged, “The family fights are quite impressive. Particularly considering that we’re mainly pacifists.”  
“I can imagine.” Sam sighed, “You should hear my brother and I go at it.”

Quatre shrugged off the comment, simply returning to his earlier position against the wall.

The other Pilots quickly fell into the same positions as well.

And their routine returned.

Only this time, Quatre started flinching every so often. It was almost as if he was being hit.

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When Quatre rose almost eagerly to his feet, after about two or three hours, the other Pilots quickly followed suit.

Half a minute later footsteps could be heard. Quatre was nervously hopping from one foot to the other, clearly slightly agitated.

Then the door opened and Duo was thrown in.

Much to SG1’s surprise, Duo was in one piece. Uninjured in any visible way.

The Pilots didn’t really care about that. Trowa and Quatre had started to move towards Duo, when he began to move on his own.

“Feral!” Trowa barked, as he caught sight of Duo’s eyes.  
“Block the corners.” Quatre hissed.  
“What’s the matter?” Sam asked.  
“He doesn’t remember us.” Wufei replied bluntly.  
“What can we do to help?” Daniel asked.  
“Stay out of our way.” Heero snarled.  
“If we do this wrong,” Quatre breathed, “If we muck this up… We could finish breaking him.”  
“He’s not broken?” Jack stared.  
“Not yet.” Trowa almost reminded.  
“Leave it to us.” Quatre ordered, “We stand the best chance.”

SG1 pulled themselves into a corner, watching as the Gundam Boys surrounded their amnesic member in a loose circle, but still giving him plenty of space.

Duo started to dash for a gap between Trowa and Heero. Heero moved to block the gap.

Duo spun and charged for a different gap. Unwilling to try and fight his way through.

“Oh God,” Jack stared, “He really is a Street-Kid.”  
“I do not follow.” Teal’c raised an eyebrow.  
“I’ve seen movement like this before.” Jack gulped, “When I was Special Forces. Street-Kids would rather run away, than fight.”

All the watchers could clearly see that Duo’s movements were definitely geared towards fight, rather than flight.

Duo was getting desperate, though. He hadn’t yet said a word. He could see that trying to slip through gaps in the circle wasn’t going to work. So he turned and charged directly at Quatre.


	22. Chapter 22

Quatre caught the fist easily, careful not to cause any harm to his panicking brother. He pulled the braided Pilot close, so that his mouth was next to Duo’s ear.

//Peace be upon you, brother.// Quatre murmured in Arabic, before kissing Duo lightly on each cheek.

Then the blond Pilot released his Sword Brother.

Duo pushed himself away, stared in shock and fear for a moment, before turning and running again.

This time he tried to fight his way past Heero. Attempting a flying kick at the Japanese Pilot’s head. Heero caught the leg and the rest of Duo, before he could fall and hurt himself.

Heero pulled Duo close to him, making sure not to cause any harm.

&You were my first friend. And you always will be my friend.& Heero whispered in Japanese.

Then, like Quatre, he released Duo.

The confusion was now clear on Duo’s face. The panic still there as well.

This time he tried to rush Wufei. But the Scholar was ready for him. Like the others, he pinned Duo gently and spoke calmly to him.

^By my Honour, you are my brother.^ Wufei stated in Mandarin.

Duo almost tore himself away from Wufei and decided to try his luck at getting past Trowa.

Trowa didn’t even allow Duo to try and hit him. Instead he leapt behind the smaller Pilot and lifted him up, careful to pin both arms to his sides.

%For he that sheds blood with me shall be my brother.% Trowa muttered in his native tongue. He had heard the line of Shakespeare from Daniel a few days earlier, and rather liked it.

Quatre moved towards the pair. Duo was not bothering to fight, knowing a useless situation when he was in one.

Quatre slowly stroked one hand over Duo’s face, careful not to harm him. Then he slid his hand to the back of Duo’s neck and squeezed once, very gently.

“Where one of us goes,” Quatre stated calmly, “The others shall follow. While you do not know us right now… You are our brother. And we shall not harm you. Nor allow you to harm yourself. And if we can at all prevent it… We shall not allow harm to come to you.”

Duo wasn’t looking at Sandrock’s Pilot. Nor any of the other Pilots, as they approached. His eyes were fixed determinedly on the floor.

“Be calm.” Quatre continued, “Be at peace. You are safe… You _know_ this… You know _us._ Just as you know our languages and words.”

Trowa lowered Duo to the ground and released him. But the self-proclaimed ‘God of Death’ didn’t run. He didn’t even move. The others had given him the space to do so, should he wish to.

Then he just collapsed in on himself. The others caught him and lowered him to the ground in a sort of pile.

“They’re like a pack of puppies.” Jack stared.  
“I would agree.” Teal’c stated.

“Cat?” Duo whispered.  
“Welcome back.” Quatre smiled, before starting to gently stroke Duo’s back. Duo’s head was in his lap, while the other three were gathered around them.  
“I can’t last much longer.” Duo murmured, “I’m going to break… Zero’s destroying me from the inside out.”  
“Don’t worry.” Wufei attempted to calm their wounded brother, “We will take care of it.”

Duo’s eyes started to drift close, exhaustion and pain, mainly mental, having their effect.

“Duo,” Quatre murmured to the almost unconscious teen, “We need some more weapons. May we…?”

Duo’s movements were slow and deliberate. He pulled his braid over his shoulder, carefully removing the hair tie from the end. He then tugged on Quatre’s sleeve. The blond allowed his arm to be moved as Duo wished. Duo placed the hair tie into Quatre’s hand, before closing the other boy’s fingers around it.

“Thank you.” Quatre breathed, stroking the braid gently. “Sleep, Duo. We’ll guard you from here.”

Duo surrendered to the exhaustion that wracked his body. Mere moments after he fell asleep, Quatre started to undo Duo’s braid. The other Pilots automatically closed ranks a bit more, blocking all sight of Duo from the undeniably curious SG1.

Fifteen minutes later the Pilots spread out slightly again, allowing SG1 to see Quatre tie off Duo’s braid with a torn strip from his clothes. Then Quatre started to push things that SG1 couldn’t quite see into the others hands. These items were quickly hidden about their persons. Apart from one item, which Trowa quickly tossed to Teal’c with only the slightest raised eyebrow as warning and explanation.

SG1 looked at the small item. It was a smooth, black, metal cylinder about the width of Sam’s palm in length, but with a radius that allowed it to be held comfortably in one hand.

“Tap once.” Heero was blunt, “When we leave. _Hard.”_  
“And just how are you planning on getting out of here in the first place?” Jack stared.  
“Later.” Heero declared.  
“Why don’t we leave now?” Sam asked, “Get Duo some help.”  
“We try to leave now,” Trowa’s voice was soft, but it carried well, “And Duo will kill someone. Mentally he’s very fragile right now. If we startle him we will not be able to control him for long. Particularly given that you will also be present, and we will have the enemy to avoid.”  
“Can’t you just knock him out?” Daniel pressed, “You’ve done it before.”  
“Not without his permission.” Wufei shook his head, “It is part of the agreement. We may knock him out, when we believe it necessary; however we must always ask his permission.”  
“How did that thing get started anyway?” Jack queried, “Seems a bit odd to me.”  
“Long story.” Heero retorted.  
“I think we have the time.” Jack fired back.  
_“Personal_ story.” Heero countered.

It was clear that none of the Pilots were going to say anything more on the matter.

In fact they didn’t say anything else. It was as if they were all decided and didn’t need to discus any future plans for escape. They all just sat their in their pile. Quatre almost absent-mindedly stroking Duo’s hair.

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It turned out that they didn’t have time to wait for Duo to recover. He was still fast asleep when the Jaffa came for him again.

Much to SG1’s surprise, the Pilots simply surrendered. Duo even going so far as to walk out of the cell, without aid or force and without looking back.

Quatre was the only Pilot to speak. Foreign syllables falling easily from his tongue so quickly that even Daniel was unable to comprehend them.

The words simply made Duo straighten his back, stand a little prouder, walk with a slight bounce to his step.

“What did you say?” Daniel asked Quatre.  
“I’m not entirely sure.” Quatre shrugged, “Howard said it once. It cheered Duo up when he had very little hope. I learnt it. I don’t know what it means. Just that Howard said it always brought hope… I don’t know Sweeper… Don’t think any non-Sweeper does.”  
“Does he know you don’t know?” Jack pressed.  
“Probably.” Heero replied, “But we say it anyway.”  
“There are some things about each other we do not ask.” Trowa declared, “We do not need to. Some things are private. We respect that. For Duo it is enough that we know it helps him and that we say it. What it means, it does not matter.”  
“We don’t need to know.” Wufei settled back against the wall, “It brings him comfort. What right have _we_ to intrude?”

SG1 flinched. They could hear the underlying reprimand. It had been their intrusion into Duo’s private life that had led up to the current events.

In some ways they were as much to blame as the Go’auld.

The Pilots returned to their waiting positions.

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It took Daniel a while to notice, but Quatre had seemed to retreat in on himself even further.

He was even rocking slightly. But more frantically than before. However only Trowa was watching him. The other two had looked, then glanced at Trowa after a few moments, who had simply nodded in reply.

“Hey,” Daniel moved to sit next to Quatre, “It’ll be alright. We’ll get out of this.”  
“That’s _not_ what I’m worried about.” Quatre murmured, looking up at Daniel.

There were streams of tears running down Quatre’s face. And blood coming from a chewed lip.

“Duo’s hurting.” Quatre said, “He’s _really_ hurting. I don’t know how much longer he can hold out.”  
“Hey,” Daniel smiled, “He’s strong. He’ll survive.”  
“Physically? Yeah.” Quatre shrugged, “Mentally? You saw last time… This is much worse.”  
“You don’t even know what they’re doing.” Daniel countered, “It’s just the suspense. They’re attacking us psychologically. They’re torturing us, while they torture Duo.”  
“It’s a two for one deal.” Jack joined in, “Look, Duo’s tough. He’ll cope. You put him back together just fine last go-round.”  
“He went feral.” Quatre retorted, “They broke him. But they didn’t break him _right._ Feral’s _easy…_ No. This time they’re doing it _right!”_  
“Don’t let your fears win.” Jack chided.  
“Scrap the plan!” Quatre snapped leaping to his feet, “Duo can’t wait. We move _now!”_  
“How bad?” Heero asked, as he and the other Pilots started to rise to their feet slowly and stiffly.  
“Don’t know.” Quatre shook his head, “Bad. He just shut me out.”  
“Stick with the plan.” Jack advised, grabbing Quatre’s hand, “Its best we start off together. Easier. We’ll know where everyone is.”  
“We don’t have the _time!”_ Quatre snatched his hand away, “Duo needs us now!”  
“You can’t know that.” Sam tried to soothe the blond.  
“Yes, I _can.”_ Quatre retorted, “We have to move now. Before _Hell_ is unleashed.”

The other Pilots almost jumped to their feet in their hurry. There was almost visible shock and horror on all their faces. Clearly they read more into Quatre’s simple statement than SG1 could.

“He’s coming back?” Wufei whispered.  
“Duo’s retreating.” Quatre shrugged, “And you know what that means.”  
“Hold on,” Daniel frowned, “First you said he was in danger… Now you’re saying he’s running away?”  
“Duo does not run away.” Heero stated, “None of us do.”  
“So he’s retreating.” Daniel dismissed the remark, “How can he be retreating while he’s still a prisoner?”  
“Because you’re thinking physical.” Jack breathed, “Duo’s mentally retreating. He’s hiding inside his own head… That’s what you mean isn’t it?”  
“Yes.” Quatre nodded.  
“He’s going comatose?” Sam stared.  
“Worse.” Wufei sniffed.  
“If Duo retreats… What takes his place is worse than you can imagine.”  
“What do you mean ‘what takes his place’?” Jack frowned.  
“You wouldn’t understand.” Wufei snapped.  
“Wufei,” Quatre spoke softly, “The door please.”

Wufei’s hand flew to his wrist, removing a white string bracelet. SG1 watched in slight amazement as he deftly unwove the string pattern, revealing a long slender cord of some kind. The bracelet hadn’t seemed long enough or wide enough for the length of cord involved.

Sam’s widened as she realized what it had to be.

“I thought Duo doesn’t normally care explosives in his hair.” Sam stared at the cord pooled in Wufei’s hands.  
“He doesn’t.” Wufei replied  
“That’s Det. Cord.” Sam countered.  
“No,” Wufei shook his head, “Its Mag. Cord. Cuts through most metals.”  
“He walks around with that in his _hair?”_ Sam was shocked.  
“We never said that Maxwell was entirely sane.” Wufei shrugged, “Turn away. Or you’ll damage your eyes.”  
_“Why_ does he carry it in his hair?” Jack asked, having overheard the conversation.  
“We don’t know.” Quatre shrugged, “And we don’t ask.”  
“Some questions are better left unasked.” Heero agreed.  
“We learnt _that_ after we asked why he was breaking into Preventer Headquarters dressed as a bunny rabbit.” Trowa agreed.  
“Why was he?” Jack pressed.  
“Spring.” Wufei replied, “What made it worse was that he had managed to get into evidence lock-up and was placing carrots on every box… And no one had noticed.”  
“Does he do that a lot?” Sam asked.

The Pilots ignored the question. Wufei deftly positioned the cord forming an arch on the door.

Once it was positioned, all of them turned away. Wufei standing slightly behind everyone else, so they couldn’t see how he ignited the cord.

The light was bright, even with their backs turned. Sam did not dare to wonder how bright it would have been to the naked eye.

When they turned to face the door, once the light had gone out, it was clear to see what damage had been done. A line had been melted through the door, carefully and precisely cutting a hole in it.

Wufei walked forward and kicked the centre part, causing it to fall outwards.

SG1 found themselves left slightly behind as the Pilots slipped through the hole almost before the echo of the bang had faded.

Glancing at each other briefly, Jack shrugged before leading SG1 after the Pilots.

They found the Pilots arranged in a loose formation outside the door. Trowa held his knife so that the blade ran up his arm. Heero had borrowed Wufei’s truncheon. Quatre and Wufei were slightly forward, holding a staff each. Though SG1 could not understand where they had gotten them from.

The answer came a moment later, when Teal’c tapped his short rod on the wall, as previously instructed. The action caused the rod to rapidly elongate transforming into a staff.

“How the…?” Daniel breathed.  
“Holy!” Jack exclaimed.  
“Useful by-product of Duo’s Toy.” Qutare answered the question, “He’s still working out a few issues.”  
“Those were in his _hair?”_ Jack blinked.  
“Impressive.” Teal’c declared as he made a few experimental twirls and spins to judge the weight.  
“Which way?” Sam looked around.  
“Duo’s in that direction.” Quatre pointed firmly.

Unfortunately he was pointing mainly at a wall.

“Kid,” Jack sighed, “That’s a wall.”  
“I can only do direction.” Quatre almost snapped, “He’s along that line.”  
“How can you be certain?” Sam demanded, “It’s just a feeling, right? Just your fears getting the better of you.”  
“No.” Daniel shook his head, “Some kind of empathy or telepathy, I think…”  
“This is _not_ the time.” Wufei declared.


	23. Chapter 23

Duo would never tell the others what the Sweeper phrase meant. It didn’t exactly have a direct translation into any language.

It was all to do with caring and loving and wishing well… But all in Sweeper terms, so that if literally translated it sounded horrible.

Duo hoped that he could hold out, but he wasn’t sure he could. He’d already broken once.

He feared next time there wouldn’t be enough of him to put back together.

He knew the others would try, but… Well, it was rumoured among the Preventers that he’d broken the last ten psychiatrists that tried to figure him out.

It wasn’t true…

They’d only sent three.

And all three had declared him an impossible case to crack, after one session. It’d gotten to the point where Une just checked with the others as to whether he was psychologically recovered from missions.

What was really disturbing Duo was that he was getting _better_ at the Faux-Zero System.

His movements were smoother. Cleaner. Easier.

He could see the attacks coming sooner.

He was picking the best option more often.

He was getting closer to being a Master… Or closer to insanity.

He wasn’t sure which.

And he wasn’t sure which was the more frightening.

Even so, being in the simulator was preferable to being in the company of Loshati.

Duo had been wary of her even before he learnt what she was. Knowing just made the feeling worse.

He still snarked though. Stopping would mean that he had no defences left.

“You _will_ obey me!”  
“Listen Snake!” Duo had to admit that wasn’t his most _inspired_ insult ever, but he was mentally, physically and emotionally worn out, “I don’t follow slagging orders well. Never frelling have.”  
“You will learn!”  
“Not in _this_ lifetime!” Duo snapped back.

The whip lashed out and caught him across the shoulder-blades.

“ _D’Arvit_! Watch it!” Duo jerked slightly.

Mentally he started to catalogue his wounds from the beginning again.

She was taking it easy on him. Mainly cuts and bruises. Not even deep or internal ones.

It was because she didn’t have an audience.

Duo knew that the session was being kept private from the other bad guys, because it would look bad if they saw Duo defying their leader like this.

She wanted to break him. But had decided on the slow and steady. Constant pain, rather than brief intense flurries.

Duo was glad. It was hard being loudly defiant when internally all he wanted to do was curl up and lick his wounds… Rest… _Heal._

So there were longer breaks in-between his insults than normal. His comments weren’t as loud as usual.

Coupled with the Go’auld’s reduced need to make him look beneath her, in front of her guards, he was actually being treated better than he would have been.

Not that the treatment was _nice…_ Just that it was less violent than it could have been.

Duo could _feel_ himself slipping away. And he could _feel_ the darkness that was bubbling up to take his place.

It was taking more of his strength to force the darkness down than he could spare. And more still to keep himself from slipping away.

Worse, with every passing second he kept questioning _why_ he was fighting slipping away.

Things would be easier. He wouldn’t hurt. He wouldn’t have to fight. He could sleep and not know anything.

But doing so would mean letting _Him_ out. His own personal Mister Hyde.

Duo had sworn never to release Him without a fight.

But with every moment the oath became less important.

While she was taking it _easier_ on him… Easier was just a relative term. It hurt more than all of OZ’s interrogations and even most of his pain-training from G. It was only that the other treatment hurt _more_ that allowed Duo to think of it as easier.

The final blow was a literal slap to the face. It was hard enough to throw Duo half-way across the room, until he collided with the throne.

Losthia turned away from Duo. She turned to a small tablet, clearly checking up on something. Dismissing Duo for the moment. Allowing him to get his breath back and the pain under control, before she would start again.

For a couple of heart-beats Duo just lay there, eyes closed, his breathing shallow and slow.

Then he opened his eyes. His gaze steady and composed.

His face was almost unnaturally calm as he twisted in his bonds. His years on the streets had left him a useful legacy…

He had two trick shoulders. And he dislocated both of them. This gave him the extra room he needed to slip his feet through the handcuffs, bringing his hands to his front.

It didn’t take him long to ‘pop’ his shoulders back into their sockets. Long practice allowing him to do so silently. Though he knew he would feel significant pain for quite some time afterwards.

He pulled his braid over his shoulder and his fingers dived into the hair, quickly searching and locating one item.

His fingers clasped around the hilt of a knife, which he silently drew from his braid.

The knife was Duo’s hold-out. The one weapon that the others would never take from him… Because even if he couldn’t use it, he felt safer knowing it was there.

He watched and waited for the right moment, knowing that he would only have one shot at what he was about to do. He would have to kill in one movement.

He bunched his legs up underneath him, tensing his muscles as he prepared to strike.

Then he leapt. He collided with her back, his arms around her neck, the chain of the handcuffs biting into her neck, as he forced his right hand far enough back to line the stiletto up with the small depression between neck and skull.

He pushed the stiletto knife into the base of the skull, with as much force as he could. Then he wiggled and waggled the knife, carving up both the host’s brain and the Goa’uld inside.

As the entangled pair collapsed, he didn’t bother fighting gravity. He just kept his hand on the handle of the knife, even as he blacked out. His knuckles turning white.

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The escaped prisoners were dashing through the corridors. The Pilots almost heedless to the necessity of discretion.

However they rarely came across groups of enemy larger than three. Though Sam had her suspicions that it was more to do with Quatre holding up a hand for stillness and silence at seemingly random points. And on one occasion darting into a side room, everyone else following, for a good thirty seconds.

The small groups they _did_ come across were quickly and easily dispatched in silence. The bodies left in rooms to hide them. Weapons collected from the corpses.

Jack had frowned slightly after the first group they had met had been slaughtered. The game’s stakes had obviously been raised. They weren’t messing around anymore.

Whatever the other side of Duo was… They were scared of it… No, _terrified._

Quatre seemed to be leading by instinct, dashing down tunnelling corridors. Never turning his head or glancing back, as if he trusted that the others would keep pace.

And they were. Determinedly and desperately keeping pace.

Jack couldn’t be sure, but he was fairly certain that they’d run in a circle at least once.

Finally, they came across a door guarded by two Jaffa.

The first was down with a knife through his heart before they could react. Trowa stood looking slightly smug.

Heero followed up the knife with a bullet through the other Jaffa’s brain. It was clear that the Pilots weren’t worried about noise anymore.

The Pilots burst through the door, swiftly followed by SG1, who were slightly slower, as both Jack and Teal’c stopped to put a Zat blast through the larval pouch on each of the dead Jaffa.

The room was the throne room they had been in earlier, only this time they’d entered through the side-door.

Lying on the floor, her back towards them, was the Go’auld. Duo’s body lay facing her back, just a little distance behind her.

He rolled to face them, his bound hands in front of him. His eyes closed. It looked as if he had merely rolled over in sleep. As he moved, he revealed the stiletto knife stuck into the Go’auld’s neck.

“Way to go, Duo.” Jack murmured half in relief, half in awe.

SG1 moved to help him, but found their way blocked by the Pilots.

 _“That_ isn’t Duo.” Trowa stated.  
“Of course it is.” Daniel retorted, “I doubt he has a twin running around.”  
“No,” Heero shook his head, “That’s _Shinigami.”_  
“The God of Death?” Daniel frowned, “I don’t get it.”  
“It’s the other half of Duo,” Quatre shrugged, “When Duo can’t get a job done… When Duo isn’t strong enough… Isn’t ruthless enough… Isn’t able to do what _needs_ to be done… Shinigami does it.”  
“A split personality?” Sam asked.  
“Not quite,” Quatre looked embarrassed, “I have one as well. Mine’s called Zero… After the Zero System. Heero’s is the Perfect Soldier.”  
“It’s a way of coping.” Wufei stated.  
“It’s not _healthy!”_ Sam protested.  
“No,” Quatre agreed, “It’s not. But we didn’t know that at the time. Mine was forced anyway, by technology. Zero fractured my mind. Heero’s and Duo’s were forced by circumstances… Mine is the closest to the surface… Most common one to appear. Heero’s is next. Trowa and Wufei’s are the most difficult to tell if they come out. They’re the closest to integration. Duo’s… His mind fractured long ago. But it doesn’t come out that often.”  
“And you’re okay with this?” Daniel exclaimed.  
“Not really.” Quatre shrugged, “But there’s not a lot we can do. Only time heals minds.”  
“Psychiatrists?” Sam suggested.  
“Don’t know how to treat us.” Heero replied, “We’re adults in kids’ bodies. Only we’re kids. We don’t make sense to anybody… Least of all ourselves.”  
“And Duo broke the last few.” Trowa added bluntly.  
“Look,” Jack sighed, “Shinigami or whatever… He can’t be _that_ bad.”  
“Watch.” Heero instructed.

He knelt down next to the boy.

Faster than SG1 thought humanly possible, Shinigami’s eyes snapped open and he seemed to leap for Heero. His fingernails seemingly intended to be used for claws.

Heero caught the bound hands and slammed them into the floor. He used his legs to pin Shinigami’s legs. With his free hand he grabbed the braided boy’s throat.

After a second or two it was clear that Heero wasn’t just fooling around. His fingers were tight enough around Shinigami’s throat to whiten the skin as he applied consistent pressure.


	24. Chapter 24

SG1 moved to help him, as his struggles became more frantic. But they found their passage once again blocked by the other Pilots.

“Trust us.” Quatre ordered.  
“Trust _him.”_ Wufei agreed.

“Submit.” Heero snapped at Shinigami.

Shinigami gave an inhuman growl and continued to struggle. He started trying to bite Heero, but the angle was all wrong.

“Submit.” Heero repeated.

Another growl, but weaker this time. While Heero hadn’t _completely_ cut off Shinigami’s air, the smaller boy wasn’t getting enough to fully fight off his assailant.

“Submit.” Heero demanded again.

“Let us through!” Jack ordered the other Pilots, “I don’t care _what_ is going on, Heero’s going to _kill_ him!”  
“No,” Trowa laid a firm hand on Jack’s shoulder, “If Heero wanted Duo dead, it would be over already. This is the best way.”  
“Best way?” Daniel protested, _“Strangling_ him?”  
“Shinigami cannot be reasoned with.” Wufei stated.  
“Shinigami cannot be controlled,” Quatre shuddered, “He’s hard to explain… But he would kill you. Without a second thought… I’m not sure about us.”  
“Why?” Sam breathed, “You’re his friends.”  
“We’re _Duo’s_ friends.” Quatre countered, “Shinigami hasn’t been let out much for many years. Duo has better control than that.”  
“I thought these other selves were fairly new.” Sam frowned.  
“Ours are.” Trowa stated, “Duo’s is old.”  
“Is this how you usually deal with this situation?” Teal’c asked.  
“No.” Quatre sighed, “Usually we have more time. And we can wait until Shinigami has worn himself out… Also it happens rarely. As we said, Duo has good control.”  
“What’s the difference between Split Personalities and… And _this?”_ Jack hissed.  
“The fact that we remember.” Quatre’s voice was almost inaudible, “Duo won’t at first, but give him a day… He’ll remember… And he’ll hate himself for it.”

Shinigami bucked, sheer desperation granting him extra strength, almost throwing Heero off him. Causing the taller boy to loosen part of his grip.

It was only a minute amount, but Shinigami would take whatever he was given. Pulling his hands down and out of Heero’s grip, he then shoved Heero in the chest.

The blow wasn’t enough to completely throw Heero off Shinigami, but it did loosen the grip around Shinigami’s throat.

There was a loud gasp as Shinigami drew in breath desperately, as Heero recovered from the push.

The Perfect Soldier and the God of Death immediately returned to their struggle. Much to SG1’s surprise, it was performed in almost complete silence, the only sounds were their breathing, the tiny intakes of pain and the sound of hits landing.

“Should not you help him?” Teal’c frowned almost imperceptibly.  
“We would only get in the way.” Wufei dismissed the remark, “Heero has the strength to deal with Shinigami and the control not to harm Maxwell. I could overpower Shinigami, however I could not be sure that I would not harm Maxwell.”  
“It’s a fine balance.” Quatre agreed.  
“A delicate line.” Daniel realized.

Heero managed to gain the upper hand, and quickly resumed his previous position, one hand pinning Shinigami’s bound wrists, the other strangling Shinigami with a tighter hold than last time, almost completely cutting off Shinigami’s air supply.

“Submit.” Heero demanded.

Shinigami simply growled as he tried to shake Heero free. However Heero had braced himself better this time, and the attempt was futile. It only served to use up more of Shinigami’s precious oxygen.

“Submit.” Heero repeated.

This time Shinigami rolled his head to one side relaxing into Heero’s hold. Heero slightly loosened his grip. Not enough to give Shinigami room to play, but enough that he was no longer slowly strangling Duo.

“Give us back Duo.” Heero ordered.

Now the braided boy turned his head to stare at Heero. Sam caught a glimpse of the violet eyes and unconsciously shivered. There was no warmth in them at all. Nothing of the Duo she expected to see. She started to believe in the Pilots’ warnings of there being someone else in charge of Duo’s body. The fighting she had passed off as mere misunderstanding and possibly Duo going feral again. But now she could see that this was very different.

“Defend.” Shinigami snarled.

It was the first time Shinigami had spoken actual words. The tone… The voice… The inflections… They weren’t Duo’s. They were something far more dangerous and deadly.

There was something far more… _Wild_ and… _Vicious._

“Stand down.” Heero retorted, apparently un-phased by the voice.

There was a long pause, as the Pilots and SG1 watched the clash of wills between the two.

“Guard.” Shinigami argued.  
“Stand down.” Heero snapped, “We will guard.”  
“Protect.” Shinigami growled.  
“Oh-Two, stand down!” Heero barked, “Oh-One, Oh-Three, Oh-Four and Oh-Five have position. Oh-Two is ordered to stand down.  
“Protect.” Shinigami repeated.  
“We will.” Heero declared, “Stand down. Shinigami! Stand down! Oh-Two. Stand down! Give us back Duo.”  
“Protect.” Shinigami snarled once more.  
“Stand. Down.” Heero leant in to hiss the command into Shinigami’s ear.

Shinigami turned his head away from Heero, closing his eyes.

Then suddenly it was as if every muscle in Duo’s body relaxed at the same time. Still Heero did not move, until Duo’s head turned back to him. The violet eyes opened and Duo was back in his body.

“Heero?” Duo’s voice was almost inaudible.  
“Sleep.” Heero instructed, releasing Duo from his hold, “Trust me?”  
“Always.” Duo replied, closing his eyes.

Heero reached out and touched that point on Duo’s neck that SG1 had gotten used to the Pilots using. Duo fell unconscious instantly, as he had done before. It only took Heero a moment to release the cuffs.

Trowa stepped forward and picked Duo up, easily slinging the braided boy over his shoulder.

“How often does that happen?” Sam breathed.  
“Not often.” Wufei replied.  
“Too often.” Quatre sighed.  
“Well, which is it?” Jack frowned.  
“Both.” Trowa retorted.  
“We wish it didn’t happen at all.” Quatre muttered.  
“Are all of yours like that?” Daniel asked.  
“No.” Heero shook his head, “We are very different.”  
“That is to be expected.” Teal’c nodded, “You have different styles of fighting. You are all very different warriors. Even though you are united by one cause.”  
“Less talking. More running.” Jack declared, “We’ve got incoming… Carter, is the snake dead?”  
“Totally, sir.” Sam nodded, “Don’t know how he managed to get it with one shot. But I’m glad he did.”  
“Move!” Heero snapped.

The Pilots were out of the door at a gallop. SG1, once again, trailing in their wake.

“Where now?” Jack asked.  
“Dry-Docks.” Quatre replied, “We need to get Duo away from here.”  
“But what about the password?” Sam reminded.  
“There’s ways round that.” Wufei stated.

They weren’t even half-way to the Docks, when the alarm was sounded. Admittedly the group had been travelling at a slower pace and with far more caution than they had previously. However they had anticipated more time.

Once the alert had been given, they did encounter more resistance, however not to the level they had expected.

The reason became clear as they arrived at the view-port for the Docks.

“They’ve launched the Suits!” Wufei slammed his hand into the wall, “We’re too _late!”_

The attack had begun without Loshita’s command. The faux-Gundam towered over a silent army of Dolls and the only half-constructed Suits.

Although Duo had locked the Dry-Docks’ doors, the Suits had simply cut a new exit in the Satellite Skin.

“They’ll destroy the planet!” Sam breathed in horror.  
“Not yet.” Jack countered, “If we can stop the Suits before they attack anywhere, we can still stop this.”  
“How are we supposed to do that?” Quatre retorted, “They took all the Pilotable Suits and even Heero won’t be able to reprogram the Dolls in time.” Quatre noticed where SG1 had turned to look, “No… No way! Allah! You saw what it did to Duo! No!”  
“It’s the only way.” Trowa pointed out, siding with SG1.  
“Well, Duo can’t Pilot it,” Quatre stated, “You and Wufei only used the system once… I _daren’t.”_  
“Even with the Sphere at stake?” Sam stared.  
“I would probably cause worse damage.” Quatre replied, “SG1 can’t. They’ve never used it. They wouldn’t stand a chance at mastering it before they went nuts.”  
“That leaves only one.” Jack stated.  
“No,” Quatre breathed, “Heero… _No!_ You don’t understand. This system is _worse_ than what we’re used to. We can’t ask that of him.”  
“We don’t have to.” Wufei declared, “He’s already made up his mind. He has Honour, Winner.”

Quatre spun and saw Heero leap into the cock-pit of the Gundam, having somehow managed to obtain and put on a space-suit in a matter of minutes.

“Oh _Allah!”_ Quatre ran his hand through his hair, “Wufei, we’ll need a radio to contact the Preventers, tell them what’s going on. Then call the Maganacs. They should be able to mobilize a few Suits to help out. I’m sure there’s _some_ left in the Bunker. Trowa, fire up Faran. You’ll need to rescue Heero, when he decides to self-destruct on us.  
“You mean ‘if’.” Sam countered.  
“No,” Quatre shook his head, “I mean _when.”_


	25. Chapter 25

Quatre quickly accepted Duo’s weight as the remaining Gundam Boys dashed off to follow his instructions. They still had to fight their way through the last few groups of loyal followers. Though these were sparse and far between.

“And what are we going to do?” Jack asked.  
“We’re going to try and hack the Dolls.” Quatre replied, “The more the system is like the original Zero system, the better for Heero. He knows Zero.”  
“Is he a Master?” Daniel queried.  
“He’s the closest thing to one we’ve got.” Quatre declared, “And Heero doesn’t fail.”  
“You mean _rarely.”_ Jack grinned wanly.  
“Do I?” Quatre shrugged, “Follow me. I _know_ I saw the Command Centre earlier.”  
“Let me.” Jack went to lift Duo out of Quatre’s arms, “It’ll be quicker this way.”

Quatre’s grip tightened on Duo, silently refusing to let him go. Jack backed off after a moment.

There was a noticeable pause, before Quatre turned and started to lead once again. However before he did, he stared straight into Jack’s eyes, causing the man to feel like the blond was staring straight into his soul and learning everything in it.

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There were very few people moving around the satellite, as the group ran past them. And those that were there offered very little resistance.

It didn’t take long for Quatre to locate the ‘Command Centre’. In reality it was probably the Harbour Master’s Office, just with a _lot_ more computers. It over-looked the outside of the satellite and the Dry Docks.

Quatre carefully placed Duo into the chair in the control room before bringing up the Dolls operating system.

“As Duo would say,” Quatre flexed his fingers, “Let’s get this party started!”  
“How can I help?” Sam looked at the screens.  
“Take a keyboard.” Quatre pointed, “We’ve got to strip the extra coding from the system. I’m taking the first program. You take the second. Call out what program you’re switching to when you finish. I’ll do the same. Colonel, Teal’c, Daniel, make sure we don’t get attacked.”  
“How will I know what’s extra?” Sam asked.  
“Just delete the lot.” Quatre stated, “I don’t care what state the Dolls are in after this.”

Sam started work. She soon realized that it wasn’t as simple as Quatre had made it sound. The deleting required more complicated procedures, which she was able to pick up on quickly, though the process would take some time.

Several minutes later, Sam _finally_ managed the first program.

“Three.” Sam called out.  
“Four.” Quatre declared moments later.  
“Five.” Wufei stated, as he slid into a seat, “Having issues?”  
“Yes.” Quatre nodded, “Kill the lot.”

Jack, Teal’c and Daniel felt like spare parts. There was clearly nothing they could do, expect protect the one unconscious boy, and the three furiously typing figures. Their only view-point of the impeding attack on the Sphere, beyond the small dots in the windows, was a single monitor, apparently tracking Heero’s progress.

Duo moaned, causing most of the room to jump.

“What’s going on? Did I do something bad?” Sam was slightly taken aback by how child-like Duo sounded.  
“No, Duo.” Quatre murmured, only glancing away from his screen, “Rest. We’ve got it under control.”  
“There’s too many.” Jack muttered staring at the monitor, “Heero can’t stop them all. Not if he continues like he is currently.”  
“Get me to a computer.” Duo ordered, his voice quavering slightly.  
“Duo!” Quatre spun around to see Duo rising onto shaking legs, “You’re hurt! Leave this to us. You’ve done your part.”  
“Maybe,” Duo shrugged, “But I have a working brain and working fingers. I can still help. Heero _needs_ help. I won’t let him down.”  
“Sit down.” Wufei ordered, “You’ll hurt yourself, fool.”  
“I. Can. Help.” Duo collapsed into a seat. He quickly pulled up a screen.

“Cattie. Cattie. Cattie,” Duo sighed, “I love you as a brother. But you think _far_ too _plebianly._ Stripping the programming… Great idea. But you gotta remember to _reuse._ Fei. Cat. I’m bringing up my screen on part of yours. Can you follow?”

Quatre and Wufei stared at their screens for a moment, before turning in shock to face Duo.

The braided boy sat there. A cocky grin on his face. And a mischievous sparkle in his eyes. Despite the exhaustion his body clearly displayed.

“It’s ingenious.” Quatre breathed, as he spun back to his computer. As if renewed his fingers sped up as they flew over the keyboard.  
“You just need to have the mind of a Sweeper.” Duo shrugged, “Nothing is trash.”  
“And a saboteur.” Wufei added, almost teasingly.  
“It’s what I was trained as.” Duo laughed.  
“You think we can upload this on the fly?” Quatre asked, not slowing down at all.  
“Do we have a choice?” Duo retorted, “We can do this. It’s an easy program. I’ve shown you where to find it. Sam… Keep deleting. We’re going to need that file space, and I don’t want anything interfering with this.”  
“We’ll upload.” Wufei stated.  
“I’m linking to the Freq.” Duo declared.

Duo slipped a headset on. His fingers shaking slightly. The microphone was carefully positioned.

“This is Agent Reaper. I need a Priority One Broadcast. _All_ Freqs.”  
“When do you need it, Agent Reaper?” The question came through the speakers.  
“Five minutes ago.” Duo retorted, “All Freqs. I want broadcast override of all Radios. This message needs to be heard by _every_ Spacer, pilot, shuttle and Space-dock.”  
“Agent Reaper you have all Freqs in five... Four... Three... Two... One!”  
“This Agent Reaper to all persons in Space. Please move to your nearest Port or Dock. If you require assistance please broadcast on Freq Six. At all times leave Freqs One to Five clear. We have an emergency situation. Please comply… I repeat this is Agent Reaper. Those of you who don’t like the Preventers, well I don’t frelling care! This is Shin. We have a slagging emergency. Get your metal butts out the way!”

Daniel blinked at the switch from Duo from calm, cool, collected professional law-enforcer to slightly angry Sweeper. All of the weakness, tiredness and hurting that Duo _had_ been suffering from was gone. There was only the single-minded determination left. The same person Daniel remembered holding him hostage in SGC Infirmary. Duo had dug deep inside himself and found another source of energy and strength. Though from where, Daniel could only imagine. Duo had tapped so many sources in the time he had been captive, he _should_ have been all tapped out.

Duo then cut the link, throwing down the microphone and headset in anger.

“Who the frell thought it would be a good idea to let Heero loose in that crudding pile of _slag?”_ Duo demanded of Quatre and Wufei.  
“He did.” Quatre and Wufei replied in sync, both pointing at the monitor showing the faux-Gundam’s flight.  
“Shoulda frelling _known!”_ Duo snapped, “It’s getting worse. Getting control. How’s the uploading doing?”  
“Twenty eight and rising.” Wufei replied.  
“We’re deleting as fast as we can.” Quatre added, “But I don’t think we’ll be in time. He’s close to the edge… Duo… We need…”  
“I don’t know if he’ll listen.” Duo snapped back, “It’s _hard_ getting out. He could be too deep.”  
“Too deep in what?” Jack cut in.  
“Zero.” Quatre replied, “He’s outnumbered. And with every passing minute, he has less and less options.”  
“He’ll self-detonate, unless he’s stopped.” Duo added.  
“It is the Honourable way out.” Wufei didn’t look up from his work, “Forty nine and rising.”  
“He wouldn’t.” Daniel breathed in shock.  
“He would.” Duo retorted, “He’s done it before. He’d do it again. Not in his sane mind these days… But right now he _isn’t.”_  
“Duo’s right.” Quatre agreed, “Zero gets in your head. It doesn’t like to lose. It would rather draw and kill _everyone_ than lose. Right now, Heero’s probably a minute or two off committing suicide. Duo…”  
“You stand a better chan…” Duo started.  
“No,” Quatre shook his head, holding out the headset, “I don’t. You’re his friend. His first friend. His _best_ friend. If anyone stands a chance it’s you. He’ll listen. I know it.”  
“You’d better be right.” Duo sighed, taking the headset, “I don’t know…”  
“Believe.” Quatre interrupted, “You know him better than any of us.”

Duo slipped the headset on.

“This is Oh-Two to Oh-One. Oh-Two to Oh-One. Do you read me, Oh-One? Over.”

There was deathly silence.

“Oh-One. Respond!” Duo barked.


	26. Chapter 26

Another silence. Duo was just drawing breath to try again, when the radio crackled.

“Oh-One to Oh-Two. Reading you. Over.” Heero’s voice had almost exactly the same tone and inflection as it had back in SGC’s infirmary all that time ago.  
“Glad to have you back with us, Oh-One.” Duo chirped, his breath coming in a burst, seemingly ignoring the tone, “Now listen up! I know Zero is telling you there’s only one way to win... But it’s _wrong!_ I have a plan.”  
“Zero…” Heero started to object.  
“Zero only knows what _you_ are going to do. I’m outside its parameters. Outside it’s programming. I have a plan.”  
“You?” There was disbelief in Heero’s voice.  
“Hey! I object to that. Which of us had the plan to rescue the other? _Me!_ You just made it up on the _run._ So buddy, just remember, you don’t have to trust me. But I’m the best friend you’ve _got!”_  
“Affirmative.”  
“Great! Okay, are you in a spacesuit?”  
“Affirmative.”  
“Right, when I tell you, I want you to eject from the Gundam. Oh-Three is in the area with a shuttle. He’ll pick you up. You will then return to the captured base. Do you understand?”  
“Affirmative?”  
“Do you accept the mission?”  
“Mission accepted.”

Duo cut the link.

“Phew!” Duo sunk back into his chair, “Next time Cattie, you’re talking him down.”  
“But you’re so good at it.” Quatre semi-teased.  
“It’s physically _draining!”_ Duo retorted.  
“And emotionally,” Quatre added, “Don’t forget.”

Then slightly to most of SG1’s surprise, Quatre tapped his chest twice, just over his heart. Though it only supported Daniel’s growing theory.

“Yeah,” Duo sighed, “I know… But you’re still talking him down next time. Quat… I’m tired.”  
“I know.” Quatre moved to gently stroke Duo’s hair, “Do you want me to carry on for you? Do you trust me?”  
“He’s counting on me. I promised him. Don’t make me a liar. Please.”  
“Then you’d better get a move on.” Jack chimed in, “What do you need to do?”  
“I need a slate or a few.” Duo pushed back from the table, “Live feed from the satellite surveillance. High def. And that crudding program loaded!”  
“Ninety six and rising.” Wufei put in, “Major Carter, you may stop deleting. This program has priority in the system. Loaded.”

Duo sat in his chair, three tablets (or slates as he called them) positioned around him.

“I know it’s not your usual set up…” Quatre started.  
“Better than nothing at all.” Duo shrugged, “Let’s get this party started.”  
“Any preference?” Quatre looked up from a computer.  
“Release the Wolves.” Duo instructed.

Quatre nodded, and started some music through the speakers. It was loud and with a quick tempo. Duo cricked his neck to both sides, stretched his finger and started to move.

Quatre and Wufei just watched. Sam stared, as the images and text on the screens flowed too quickly for her to catch more than the briefest of glimpses.

“T,” Duo didn’t look up, “Take the headset. I’m gonna link you up to the Suits. Talk ‘em out of ‘em. Tell ‘em to surrender. Or I’ll kill ‘em.”  
“You can _do_ that?” Sam blinked.  
“I have control of the Dolls.” Duo shrugged, “I have control of the Suits’ self-detonation. Hell yeah.”

Much to Jack’s surprise, Duo didn’t sound gleeful or triumphant about the fact. Almost sad and bitter. As if he didn’t want to have the power over life and death. Despite the fact that those he was threatening had harmed him.

“Tell them to eject, now.” Duo carried on, “This is a one time only offer. They have one minute. They eject… They will live. They don’t. They die.”  
“What if they aren’t wearing space-suits?” Sam demanded.  
“Then they’re frelling idjits.” Duo replied softly, “This is the _only_ way to save Heero… ‘Fei, I need another coupla headsets. T, you’re on the Suits’ freq. Talk.”

Teal’c blinked once in surprise at the blunt instruction. But he could understand where the boy was coming from. He took the headset, and easily adjusted it to fit.

“Jaffa,” Teal’c spoke firmly, “I am Teal’c. My brothers, the False God is dead. All your lives you have been serving a False God. One not worthy of our loyalty. You have been slaves to her will. She is dead. Slain by a child not twenty winters old. That same child threatens your lives now. Eject from your vessels or die. That is the ultimatum he has given you. Die now and you die as slaves to a dead master. You have been deceived. Your only chance at survival is to surrender. Join the Free Jaffa, lead by Master Bra’tac. Live free.”

Jack found it quite amusing that Teal’c ended with that phrase. Considering that the Free Jaffa would more normally state ‘I die free’.

Wufei handed over a few headsets.

“Cattie,” Duo handed one to the blond, “Contact the Maganacs. When I tell you, they need to disengage and run like crazy. ‘Fei, you’re covering the Preventers. I can see Zechsy on my screens already. I’ll be contacting various people. So keep sharp.”  
“At what point did _he_ become the leader?” Jack murmured to Daniel.  
“When you’re on _my_ turf,” Duo snapped, “Dealing with _my_ systems. You defer to _me!_ And unlike the others, my turf isn’t a piece of land or a speciality. My turf is the Black.”

Duo’s hands never stopped moving. His eyes flicking between screens.

“Is this normal?” Daniel breathed in shock.  
“No.” Quatre shook his head, “Duo rarely takes charge. Not his style.”  
“He far prefers to be commanded than to command.” Wufei agreed, “Though he maintains the Sergeants’ approach to Commanding Officers.”  
“The _what?”_ Sam blinked.  
“We’ll explain later.” Quatre replied, as he slipped on his headset.  
“T,” Duo spoke up, “Do you think all your guys have surrendered?”  
“All of them who will.” Teal’c confirmed.  
“Good,” Duo grinned, “Time for stage two. Fei, Cat, tell your guys to back off. Tro, get ready to pick up Heero.”

He moved his fingers once more.

“Agent Wind,” Wufei snapped into his headset, “Retreat. We have Grim Reaper on the loose.”  
“What is happening up there?” A cultured voice asked.  
“Explanations later. But we currently have several enemies in Suits. Some have surrendered. Their goal is to conquer the Sphere. Fanatics. Guardian piloting the replica Gundam. Do _not_ approach. Zero protocol.”  
“Is he _crazy?”_  
“Which one?” Wufei’s voice was bland.  
“The… The… Good point. Any ideas what is in his head?”  
“No time. Retreat. We are in control.”  
“You’d better be. You screw up I’m not telling my sister… _Especially_ not if it means that Heero dies. She has quite a loud voice.”  
“We know.”  
“Yes, you would.” Wind replied after a pause, “Disengaging.”

SG1 watched as just over half of the forces from the planet started to retreat.

“Rashid,” Quatre spoke quickly, “Retreat. We have things under control.”  
“You are certain, Master Quatre?”  
“Duo is _playing.”_ Jack glanced at Quatre’s tone for the last word; it was almost as if he wished to say something else.  
“Understood.”

The other half of the forces pulled back, apparently leaving the Jaffa with no impediment in their attack apart from Heero and whatever plan Duo had cooked up.

“Tro,” Duo called out over the headset, “Get ready. I assume you’ve been listening in.”  
“Your orders?” Trowa was blunt.  
“Grab ‘im and _run._ I’ll leave you a clear patch between the moon and the L1 cluster. Get there and hunker down. You will have a _minute_ between my order to Heero and the last beat of the dance. You copy?”  
“Loud and clear.”  
“Good. Keep this channel open.”

Duo glanced at his screens once more. One hand moved to his head, temporarily brushing his bangs out the way, as he turned to stare at the ceiling.

“DJ on the dance floor,” Duo murmured, “The God of Death is in the house.”

Quatre moved to gently squeeze Duo’s shoulder. Duo put one hand over Quatre’s, looking up at the blond.

“You can do this.” Quatre smiled gently, encouragingly.  
“If I’ve got this wrong, I’ll kill them.” Duo’s voice seemed to waver slightly.  
“In all the time I’ve known you, you’ve _never_ been wrong about a calculation. Trust yourself. You can do this.”  
“Well,” Duo shrugged, “I always wanted to do this… If this works, it’s going down as my greatest achievement _ever!_ If it doesn’t… Kill me… Because I don’t want to live with the consequences.

“Tro, keep alert.

“Oh-One eject. _Now!”_

Duo gave the order, just as his hand jabbed one of the tablets, clearly sending some sort of command to the Dolls under his control.

Then he started to murmur under his breath.

“Hee. Duo. Tro. Quat.” It was clear that they had some importance, “Wu. Zechs.”  
“Daniel?” Jack nudged the archaeologist.  
“I _think,”_ Daniel stared, “He’s counting. Switching languages all the time… But, I think he’s counting.”  
“No,” Sam shook her head, “He’s saying _names._ Nicknames.”  
“Numbers.”  
“Names.”

Jack watched as the argument went back and forth.

“Gosts’idi. Soch. Oalu. Noin. Umi.”

Duo simply ignored everyone, and continued to count. For the first time since he woke up, his hands were completely still. There was nothing more he could do. He just stared at his hands.

123456789

“Saath.” Duo finished murmuring to himself.

Then he looked up at his screens. Tension clear in his posture.

“Trowa? You secure?” Quatre asked, over the headset.  
“Yes.” Trowa’s reply was blunt.  
“Heero?” Quatre pushed.  
“No worse than expected.”  
“Good.”  
“What did Duo _do?”_ Trowa asked.  
“I’m not sure.”

SG1, Quatre and Wufei were staring at the screens in shock and appal. Duo was watching them with a slightly smug smile on his face.

“Was it _absolutely_ necessary to do that, Maxwell?” Wufei didn’t move his eyes from the screens.  
“If I say yes will you believe me?” Duo asked.  
“Kid…” Jack was wide-eyed, “They’re _waltzing.”_

And they were. Every Doll had paired up with a Suit and they were waltzing. Drifting out into a sphere.

“I know.” Duo shrugged, “I _was_ going to go for a Circle Dance… But wasn’t sure that the Suits would co-operate with the Dolls.”  
“When’s the explosion?” Jack asked.

All of SG1 turned to stare at him.

“What?” Jack protested, “There’s no way that he’d get Trowa to hunker down if there _wasn’t_ going to be an explosion. And it’s been a minute.”  
“I learned after a fiasco.” Duo shrugged, “I _always_ set my timers for longer than I tell anyone else. After I nearly killed Heero because he cut it too frelling fine, it became standard for me.”  
“So how long?” Sam asked.  
“Noin.” Duo started his strange mutterings again, “Otto. Soch. Zechs.”

SG1 stared at the screen as the Doll and Suit and the Faux-Gundam spread out in a sphere around the Sphere. _Outside_ the Colonies. Encompassing _everything,_ the planet, the Colonies, the satellites.

“They’re moving pretty fast.” Sam blinked, “Considering that they’re dancing… I can’t believe I just _said_ that!”  
“They’re moving faster than usual.” Quatre agreed, “Could be due to the fact that Duo doesn’t care what state the pilots or the equipment is _in_ after he’s done… Or that they’ve been improved.”  
“Tro.” Duo murmured.

Suddenly the lights dimmed. There was enough light so that no one would trip over anything, but they certainly weren’t as bright as before.

SG1 glanced at each other, catching the surprise on Quatre’s and Wufei’s faces. However Duo was completely calm.

“Duo.” He carried on, “Hee. _Zero.”_


	27. Chapter 27

They glanced back at the screens just in time to see the dancing weapons explode.

“And _that,”_ Duo spread his arms wide, “Is how we do it.”  
“Kid,” Jack breathed, “I think that might even beat Sam’s Sun.”  
“Brace yourselves.” Duo smirked, “I’m not done yet.”

Quatre and Wufei’s eyes went wide as they realized what Duo meant. Immediately they shifted their stances, so as to have a more stable base. Additionally they clung onto the fixed furniture.

“Hold on!” Quatre snapped at SG1.

SG1 braced themselves, initially not quite sure what was going to happen. But Sam’s eyes widened and she opened her mouth to explain as she realized what was going on.

She never got a chance to explain as the satellite shook around them.

The shuddering was sufficient to knock all of those standing to the floor. Duo was the only one still vaguely upright, in his chair.

His hand flew to his headset and he was clearly making a call. However it was in that strange language known only as Sweeper.

“Shin to all Sweepers. We have a new junk field. Plot it. Log it. Spread the word… Then start cleaning it up. There’s some prime pieces in all that… Just stay safe. Shiny side _up,_ people!”

Duo’s hand then twitched slightly, probably changing channels.

“This is Agent Reaper to all Colonies and Satellites. I apologize for overriding your controls. Due to circumstances we had an incident involving explosives. Please maintain the extra power to the Debris Shields for another half hour. You should have sufficient power for the high priority areas to operate at full power and for the lesser priority areas to maintain sufficient functionality. Any objections are to be sent to the Preventers. Signing off.”

Again the hand twitched.

“Shin to all Spacers. New junk field. Check with the Sweepers to update your systems. Also floating are several prisoners. Bag ‘em. Tag ‘em. Present to the Stetson. Flag for my brahs’ eyes. I’m crashing.”

Another twitch.

“Rashid, Duo here. Cattie’s safe. Now move and round up the prisoners. Watch out for junk. There’s a lot more of it now.”

Once more the hand twitched.

“Zech-sy. Duo here. Roll out the Battle Taxis. You’ve got clean up detail. Move out fast. Gonna take ya some time to get to ‘em. And your Suits ain’t gonna help. Can’t carry two. Watch out for junk. We just got a whole lot more of it.”

Duo didn’t wait for a response.

“Tro? You both alright?” His voice was slower… More tired… He didn’t have the false exuberance he’d used in the earlier calls.  
“Fine.” Trowa was characteristically blunt, “You?”  
“Come on back. I’m gone.”

Duo cut the connection.

He then slumped in his chair, almost falling out. Only the fact that Jack leapt to his feet and caught the braided boy prevented him from doing so.

“Carter, what just happened?” Jack demanded.  
“Shockwave, sir.” She replied bluntly.  
“Sam,” Daniel frowned, “I’m not up on science… But even _I_ know that you need air for a shockwave. There’s no air in space.”  
“I know.” Sam sighed, “Shockwave’s the best word though. It was the shrapnel to be precise. Large piece, I’d say.”  
“How come we’re still alive then?” Daniel asked.  
“Debris Shields,” Wufei replied, “Retro-fitted to all colonies and inhabitable satellites after the Wars. Usually they’re only powered at a low level. Designed to protect from micro-meteors and small debris. Judging from what Maxwell said, he hacked the power systems and increased the power supply.”  
“Is that physically _possible?”_ Sam pressed, “I can understand force-fields. I presume it’s some sort of variation on some things I’ve seen and studied before. But increasing the strength? Low level force-fields shouldn’t be able to be multiplied to that extent. Not without consequences.”  
“That may be so,” Quatre nodded, “However the Debris Shields are based on the Planet Defensors, part of the Mercurius Mobile Suit. Their original purpose was to deflect blows in combat. Their normal power usage, and thus their strength, was reduced for their adjusted role.”  
“However,” Wufei took over, “Their _potential_ strength was not altered. Only the power supplied to them. It is not surprising that Maxwell was aware of a way to over-ride the limiter.”  
“Their only limit is their power supply?” Sam queried.  
“As far as I am aware,” Quatre nodded, “I’m afraid I don’t know everything about them. They are a Winner Industries product, so I know more than most; however I was not involved in the development.”  
“I wouldn’t say they’re very effective.” Jack remarked, “We still felt a lot of that… But we’re still alive, so we’re alright.”  
“Poor power source.” Quatre shrugged, finding a first aid kit, “This satellite is pretty old and neglected. It might be the _law_ to install them… But no one insists on maintenance.”  
“And maintaining an old satellite you’re not using is stupid,” Jack nodded, “Right gotcha. Where do you want the kid?”  
“On the floor,” Quatre sighed, “We’re not going anywhere until Trowa and Heero make their way back. Wufei, can you give me a hand? Colonel, don’t put him down just yet.”

The two boys shook what looked remarkably like a space blanket out for Duo to lie on. Jack gently laid Duo down on it.

Quatre started inspecting Duo’s wounds, cleaning them with what looked like some sort of disinfectant spray.

“How’d you manage to program the Dolls so quickly?” Sam breathed.  
“It’s actually one of Duo’s standards.” Quatre replied, not looking away from his task at hand, “He’s got a couple of pre-set viruses on the Stream. Just need to download. He created them during the War. Stress relief, he called them. It worked. Never realized what they _did_ though. Perhaps I should have asked.”  
“Better the programs than the pranks.” Wufei sniffed, from where he was using a computer to direct Preventers and Spacers, “And Maxwell has always been particularly _creative_ when bored or stressed.”  
“True enough.” Quatre agreed, “Though he’s not alone in being creative. I haven’t forgotten hearing about _your_ interesting little manoeuvre to avoid capture, as observed by Heero and Duo, during Heero’s rescue of Duo.”  
“It was a logical solution to my problem. It was also successful.” Wufei countered.  
“If it’s stupid and it works, it’s not stupid.” Jack grinned.  
“Agreed.” Trowa remarked from the doorway.

The group turned to face Trowa, who was almost holding Heero upright.

“Oh-Two, status?” Heero almost barked.  
“He’s stable.” Quatre replied, “Needs Sally in the near future. But he’s not deteriorating, in any immediate danger or suffering from anything that would mean he wouldn’t be mission ready in two to three weeks. Solo flight ready in one. Flight capable now. He’s just crashed.”  
“Oh-One status?” Wufei added.  
“Mission capable.” Heero retorted.  
“Sit!” Quatre pointed at the chair Duo had, until recently, been sitting in, “I’ll check you over once I’ve sorted Duo out. Trowa, put him there. Then give me a hand. I’m going to need to bandage these ribs.”  
“What does all that mean?” Sam asked, “Flight capable. Fight ready.”  
“Ready means a doctor would clear us for it.” Quatre replied, as he began to bandage Duo’s rib-cage, Trowa holding Duo in a sitting position, “Capable means we could, but it wouldn’t be advisable by a doctor.”  
“So you’re going to subject Duo to transport when he _shouldn’t?”_ Daniel stared.  
“A doctor wouldn’t _advise_ it.” Wufei sniffed, “However there is a great deal of difference between what a doctor would advise under ideal situations and the situations alongside requirements occurring in a war situation.

Sam rooted through the medical kit, quickly locating an injectable pain-killer and a syringe. Loading the syringe, she prepared to inject it into Duo. A hand grabbed her wrist.  
“No.” Heero growled. Sam tried to move her arm, but it might as well have been restrained by solid steel.  
“He’s in pain.” Sam pointed out, “It’s just an analgesic.”  
“No.” The grip tightened, causing Sam to gasp in pain.  
“Duo doesn’t like drugs.” Trowa stated calmly, pulling the needle from Sam’s fingers.  
“He’s in pain.” Sam repeated.  
“We don’t drug people against their will.” Quatre declared, “Duo has some bad experience with that. During the war, he never even used the mildest of analgesics.”  
“He’s been beaten up.” Jack reminded.  
“He’s taken worse.” Wufei countered, “Sometimes by those on his side. We won’t betray his trust in us. That would be dishonourable.”  
“Not even if he needs it?” Daniel pressed.  
“That would be for a doctor to decide,” Quatre announced, “Sally knows about Duo’s preferences. No drugs.”  
“Look at his injuries! He _needs_ treatment. Help make him better quicker.” Sam stressed.  
“I’m with Carter.” Jack frowned, “If he needs drugs he should get them. Rather than shrug them off in an attempt to prove how tough he is.”  
“Duo doesn’t like drugs.” Quatre replied gently, “We won’t go against his wishes.”

Quatre laid Duo back down.

“Alright Heero. Suit off.” Quatre turned to his friend, “And don’t tell me it’s not necessary. When we get back, Sally’s putting the _pair_ of you through the full load of tests. Zero exposure is _not_ to be taken lightly.”

Heero started to remove the space-suit. No-one there missed the small wince and flinch as he pulled the top over his head. Clearly there was some injury there.

Quatre simply gave Heero a once over, then sighed.

“Right, I’ll need Sally to clear you completely. However there appear to be no major _physical_ consequences of your actions. So you should be fine after some sleep… You are _not_ driving home, no matter _what_ you think. Trowa and Wufei are driving. Wufei, go start the pre-flight checks for Faran, as I _know_ Trowa skipped them on his way out.”

Wufei nodded and left the room.

“Trowa,” Quatre continued, “Check that the place is empty or full of surrendered. Then lock them up someplace. Tell Zechs or Noin and they’ll come out and take charge of them. I’ll put the systems here in freeze and then you can help me move Duo to Faran. No, Heero, you’re lucky I let you _walk_ on you own!”  
“We could help by carrying Duo.” Jack suggested.  
“Too risky.” Heero cut that thought off.  
“He’s right.” Quatre sighed, “It’s far too dangerous right now. Duo’s normally one of the calmest among us. And certainly the most docile when half-asleep, if you’re a friend. But right now… You _don’t_ mess with Zero. He’s on edge. I won’t have you injured because he doesn’t realize you’re friends. Help Trowa.”

Quatre turned back to Duo, only to find that Heero had gotten out of the chair to kneel next to Duo.

“Get back in the chair!” Quatre snapped, “Allah! You’re _injured!_ I know you set your own legs, but do me a favour and just do as I say this once? Please?”

SG1 followed Trowa out of the room.  
“He sets his own legs?” Daniel almost demanded of Trowa.  
“According to Duo, yes.” Trowa nodded.  
“And that’s as good as the Gospel truth?” Jack raised an eyebrow, “I mean, for crying out loud, I _know_ Heero’s slightly tougher than most. But…?”  
“Duo does not lie.” Trowa chided slightly.

123456789

After all the fighting and the shockwave, it was a relatively easy task to round all the remaining enemy up. Trowa chose to lock them in what had been the throne room, as it was the only intact room large enough to put them all in.

“Carter!” Jack yelled from a room he was clearing.  
“Yes sir?” Sam ran in, quickly followed by the others.  
“Tell me that’s not what I think it is.” He pointed at a box on the floor.  
“It is a bomb, O’Neil.” Teal’c stated.  
“I _told_ you not to tell me that!” Jack sighed.


	28. Chapter 28

“No,” Teal’c raised an eyebrow, “You told MajorCarter not to tell you that.”  
“It’s active.” Daniel added, noticing the numbers counting down, “We’ve got…”  
“How long?” Jack hissed.  
“Carry the three… Transfer the five… About ten minutes. Probably less.” Daniel shrugged, “Converting time isn’t easy.”  
“How big?” Trowa cut to the chase.

Sam was kneeling by the bomb.

“It contains Naqahdah.” She declared, “Weapons grade…I can’t be certain, but it’ll destroy the satellite… Maybe further… Trowa, how powerful is this explosive normally?”

She pointed at the main explosive, nestled in the centre of the bomb.

“Powerful enough to destroy the satellite on its own.” Trowa replied, “It’s similar to what Duo used on your Iris. Only more of it.”  
“That’s not good.” Sam breathed.  
“Ya think?” Jack muttered.  
“Indeed.” Teal’c nodded.  
“Carter can you disarm it?” Jack asked.  
“Maybe. I don’t recognise what I can see of the design.”  
“Trowa?” Jack queried.  
“Not any design I know.” Trowa shrugged.  
“Teal’c?”  
“It does not seem to be of Goa’uld design. At least not primarily.”  
“I’ll agree with you. There’s no visible lights or crystals. Carter?”  
“There’s no obvious bobby-traps on the casing.” Sam muttered, “Give me some space.”

Sam carefully removed the outer casing; alert for any bobby-traps or wires.

“Well, there are the crystals.” Jack noted, almost idly.  
“Things I recognise, too.” Trowa added.  
“He’s right, Sir.” Sam took it in at a glance, “This is a mixture of technology.”  
“For crying out loud! You’re telling me the Goa’uld pulled a _Frankenstein_ on us?” Jack swore.  
“Effectively, yes, sir.” Sam nodded, “Trowa give me a hand. I need you to identify what we have here.”  
“Detonator.” Trowa pointed, “Timing device. Movement detector.”  
“How sensitive?” Sam looked at it.  
“Mid-range. We can poke it. But we can’t lift it.”  
“So it’s a good thing we never destroyed the gravity core?” Jack pressed.  
“Would have gone off when she died then.” Trowa nodded, “Life-signal monitor.”  
“So this bomb was triggered by her _death?”_ Jack exclaimed, “The ultimate dead-man’s switch!”  
“Time delayed.” Sam corrected, “Probably designed to lull us into false security that the threat was past.”  
“Pretty smart for a Snake.” Jack sighed.  
“What’s this?” Sam pointed.  
“Remote trigger.” Trowa replied.  
“Did she put every single method of setting this thing off _possible_ in?” Daniel almost yelped.  
“Probably.” Trowa said dryly.  
“Carter?” Jack pressed.  
“Give me a _moment,_ sir!” Sam snapped slightly, “There isn’t exactly an off-switch.”  
“Should we just grab the boys and run?” Daniel suggested.  
“Not an option.” Trowa shook his head, “Faran wouldn’t make it beyond the immediate shrapnel blast radius. We’d be killed.”  
“Great.” Jack muttered, “Carter?”  
“Give me a _moment,_ sir!” She retorted, “This isn’t exactly something I’ve seen before.”

She stared at it for a while, before starting to mutter under her breath.

“So all the triggers go into this section here… Trowa, is this an ‘Or-gate’?”

Trowa looked blankly at her for a moment.

“Any power going in from any of the inputs comes out.” Trowa finally supplied.  
“That’s an ‘Or-gate’.” Sam nodded, _“Theoretically_ on a normal bomb if I cut… But this isn’t a _normal_ bomb.”  
“Sam,” Daniel put in, “We’re running out of time!”  
“I need a moment!” Sam fired back, “I cut the wrong wire… I pull the wrong crystal… We’re all dead.”  
“And if you don’t, we’ll die anyway.” Trowa reminded.

There wasn’t a touch of rebuke or recrimination in Trowa’s voice, but Sam jerked as if she had been slapped. The comment was so unexpected from Trowa. Particularly given that he sounded so accepting of any fate that came upon them.

Sam pulled her knife and started moving across the wires, tapping them lightly in contemplation.

“I’m going to have move quickly.” She declared after a moment’s further thought, “I think that if I don’t disarm it quickly enough after starting to interfere with it, it’ll go off.”  
“Do you need another set of hands?” Trowa knelt down next to her.  
“Grab what I give you and don’t let any of the crystals touch each other.” Sam instructed, “I would tell the rest of you to find cover, but there’s absolutely no point. Just give me space.”

Sam proceeded to stare at the bomb for long moments, before moving quickly to either cut a wire or pull a crystal, sometimes pulling back at the last moment.

Jack and Daniel watched in nervous anticipation. Waiting for Sam to either relax or for their lives to end. Either one was possible. They flinched with each decisive movement.

Teal’c watched, his expression, naturally, more detached. However he also flinched slightly, though it was virtually imperceptible to those who didn’t know him well.

Trowa didn’t flinch or move away. He simply knelt and cleared away whatever Sam presented him with.

After a while, Jack found himself watching Trowa’s face more than he watched Sam’s eyes. There was the same level of detachment that he had seen back at the circus when Trowa was the human target.

It was almost as if to Trowa there was no difference between that and this.

Some small part of Jack wondered what sort of life and/or training the teen had undergone to reach the state of detachment. While the rest of him was appalled… At least that part of him which wasn’t worrying about the bomb.

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“Daniel.” Sam spoke up after what seemed like a long while, “What does this mean?”  
“It’s technical.” Daniel frowned, “I don’t have the time to figure it out.”  
“What’s the matter, Carter?” Jack asked.  
“Either I remove this crystal and we’re all safe, or we all die.”  
“Just do it.” Jack instructed, “We don’t have the time to figure it out.”

Sam paused for only one more moment, before she pulled the crystal out of the system.

The lights died.

“Are we still alive?” Jack queried.  
“If we aren’t,” Trowa spoke softly, “I want a refund on Hell.”  
“You think you’d end up in Hell?” Daniel blinked.  
“No, but Duo always says he will. And he’s not going alone.” Trowa smiled as if at some private joke.  
“What are the odds that there’s more of these lying around?” Jack asked.  
“Low.” Daniel replied, “I’m surprised she had a back-up plan in the _first_ place. She seemed too arrogant.”  
“We check anyway.” Jack ordered, “Split up. Keep in contact.”

They did so.

Fortunately there were no other bombs.

1234546789

Upon returning to Quatre and the injured parties, they found Quatre in conversation over the headset.

“How far are you out?” Quatre asked.  
“Five minutes, tops.” Noin’s voice chirped, “Will you be leaving before or after we arrive?”  
“Depends on when Trowa gets back.” Quatre shrugged, “Could you ensure that Doctor Po is waiting for us when we arrive?”  
“Of course, she’s been on stand-by since you boys went off on your rescue jihad!”

Though Jack couldn’t see Noin, he could picture her throwing up her hands in amusement while she spoke.

“Ah, Trowa’s back.” Quatre smiled, “We’ll see you soon, Miss Noin.”  
“Catch you on the flip-side.” Noin chirped.

Quatre turned to face Trowa.

“You’re carrying Duo.” Quatre pointed at Trowa, “I’m helping Heero. And you’re _accepting_ that help, Heero. I don’t care if you think you can manage alone. You’re not.”

Heero had opened his mouth to object, but closed it at Quatre’s glare.

Trowa shrugged and stepped forward, easily picking Duo up in his arms. Quatre moved to pull Heero’s arm over his shoulders.

Jack moved to grab the medical kit.

“Leave it.” Quatre instructed, “There’s a better one on board Faran.”

The small group made their way back to Faran, to find Wufei still working in the cockpit.

“How much longer?” Quatre asked.  
“I’m done.” Wufei replied, “Barton, I’m amazed it’s still in one piece.”

Trowa simply shrugged, as he placed Duo down lying on the seats. Sam was about to comment about seatbelts, when Trowa simply bent down and from underneath the seats pulled out suitable restraints, which he used to secure Duo.

Heero was positioned, so that he sat next to Duo’s head. Sam stifled a smile as she watched him reach out and wrap the braid around his hand, as if reassuring himself that Duo was still there.

“How long will it take to get back?” Jack queried.  
“A full day, at least.” Quatre sighed, “Probably a day and a half.”  
“Why so long?” Daniel frowned, “We can use the full speed of this craft…”  
“No,” Wufei shook his head, “Barton nearly killed the engines.”  
“He pushed them.” Sam nodded, “I thought he made good time.”  
“It’s what’s Faran is designed for.” Quatre shrugged, “But it takes its toll. The engines will need a complete overhaul. Faran can only usually do one spurt like that. I’m amazed Trowa got two out of him.”  
“Him?” Jack frowned, “Most ships are female.”  
“This one’s special.” Quatre replied.  
“Spurt?” Sam pressed, “I take it that Trowa pushed the engines.”  
“More than a little.” Quatre sighed, “We’re lucky he can cope with piloting at such speeds. Most people would be dead from that.”

As they spoke, they were strapping themselves into the seats. Wufei joining Trowa up in the cockpit.

Not long after that they disengaged from the Satellite.

123456789

After what seemed like hours, and possibly might have been, SG1 broke the silence.

“Why did Shinigami go for Heero?” Daniel asked, “He and Duo seem pretty close.”  
“They are.” Quatre shrugged, “Shinigami isn’t Duo… And Duo isn’t Shinigami. They’re very different people… If you can even _call_ Shinigami a person.”  
“So Shinigami doesn’t like Heero?” Jack pressed.  
“We’re not sure.” Quatre seemed slightly embarrassed, “Duo doesn’t let him out much… I _know_ Shinigami is protective of _me._ I don’t know about the others. Duo once said that the only person Shinigami ever _deferred_ to isn’t around anymore.”  
“You’re scared of him.” Daniel pressed lightly.  
“Wouldn’t you be? What you saw… That was Shinigami bound, injured and weak… I’ve seen him at full strength and free as the breeze. We’re all scared of our other halves. They don’t come out often. But it’s never a good thing if they do.”  
“Oh-Four.” Heero’s voice managed to combine a reprimand, an instruction and comfort in an almost monotone two syllables.  
“Hai.” Quatre ducked his head in apology.

Once again silence fell over the group.

123456789

SG1 had given up on waiting for the Pilots to break the silence, and so were discussing things quietly among themselves.

Suddenly a moan broke through their conversation.

“T?” Duo’s voice was slurred, as he turned his head to face the Jaffa Warrior.  
“What is it DuoMaxwell?” Teal’c asked.  
“How many?” Duo murmured, “How many Jaffa?”  
“Two thirds.” Teal’c responded.  
“Two thirds were saved?” Duo breathed in wonder.  
“No. Two thirds died.” Teal’c corrected.  
“Way to make me feel better, T.” Duo sighed.  
“You said you didn’t care.” Sam frowned.  
“I didn’t. Now I do. I couldn’t protect them. But that doesn’t mean I wanted them to die. I hoped I’d left that behind.”  
“We all did.” Heero put in.  
“We can’t help what’s happened.” Quatre shrugged, “But we can stop it from affecting us further.”  
“What are you thinking?” Jack asked slowly. While he didn’t want the boys to fight, it was clear they were already soldiers. And they were also very useful allies. He was torn. He wanted the planet to make an alliance with Earth. But he didn’t want the boys involved in fighting the Goa’uld… He wanted to protect them. However it was clear that if any fighting was involved all five would be right at the centre of it.

Simply put, they cared too much to stand by and let someone else take their place.

123456789

“Hey, kid.” Jack broke the silence that his last words had caused, “Any idea why they didn’t put at least a mini-snake into you?”  
“They tried with a couple, I think. They all went nuts. Reckon the snakes can’t deal with Zero.” Duo murmured.  
“Shh,” Quatre tapped Duo in gentle reprimand, “Get some rest.”  
“Can’t.” Duo replied, “Hurt.”  
“I know.” Quatre whispered, “What do you want?”  
“Rest.” Duo’s voice was barely audible.  
“Trust me?” Heero asked.  
“Always.” Duo closed his eyes.

Heero applied the customary nerve-pinch.

“Is Maxwell alright?” Wufei came out of the cabin.  
“He will be.” Heero replied, “ETA?”  
“Another three hours, approximately.” Wufei answered, “Winner, switch.”  
“Understood.” Quatre got up, “Did you at least get some sleep up there?”  
“Barton slept more than I. Hence his reasoning that you should take my position. Yuy being injured and Maxwell incapacitated.”  
“Agreed.” Quatre nodded, “Rest, Wufei. Duo’s out of it, so you won’t have his chattering.”  
“Is there anything else I should be aware of?” Wufei asked.  
“He came round. Duo not _Him._ I think we’re past the worst of it. But he hasn’t yet remembered.” Quatre stated.  
“You are sure?” Wufei frowned.  
“He hasn’t thrown up… Begged for forgiveness… Started verbally berating himself… No, he hasn’t remembered.” Jack stared at Quatre as he calmly listed the things Duo _hadn’t_ yet done.  
“He’ll do all that?” Jack murmured.

Both Pilots turned to face SG1 as if they had forgotten that the team had been present. Their faces went blank and they both moved silently to their respective new positions.

“Touchy subject.” Jack muttered to Daniel.  
“You’re surprised?” Daniel retorted, “We still don’t talk about some of the emotional stuff we did in our _first_ year as a team.”  
“Good point.” Jack surrendered after a long pause, “What do you suggest we do?”  
“Sleep?” Sam put in, “I’m tired, sir. And we still have a long way to travel. Not like we can exactly do anything to help. This shuttle isn’t armed.”  
“No weapons?” Jack stared.  
“None that I have found, sir.” Sam replied, “Though if this is merely a fast transport vessel that would make sense. Excess weight would slow it down.”  
“MajorCarter is correct.” Teal’c nodded, “I also have not observed any external weaponry.”  
“If we require an armed shuttle,” Heero cut across them softly, “We use a different shuttle.”

The comment ceased all discussion.

123456789

Jack was jerked out of his light doze by moving footsteps. Sam and Teal’c also stirred, but Daniel slept on, his head tucked firmly into Jack’s neck.

Releasing his seat-belt, Jack shifted to cover Daniel, without waking him.

“Stand down.” Trowa’s voice came from the doorway of the cockpit.  
“Easy Colonel.” It was Sally, standing at the door of the shuttle, “I’ve just come to welcome you home… And take _these_ two idiots for a medical check-up.”  
“I am fine.” Heero tried to argue.  
“Yeah, sure,” Sally retorted, “I know. Feelings Inside Not Expressed.”

Jack stifled a snort of laughter.

“Right then,” Une was also smothering her laughter, “As long as Duo is out for the count, this is what is going to happen… _Everyone_ is getting a medical. Just in case. Food. Sleep. Then SG1 are back to the negotiating table… One more day. Then Relena is hosting the Ball for everyone tomorrow night, where she will reveal the fact that aliens exist. Is there anything I’ve forgotten?”  
“Duo gets treated first.” Jack stated, “And we’re fine. We don’t need to be jabbed with…”  
“Needles?” Sally raised an eyebrow, already fingering one of the aforementioned items, “You’re getting a check-up, Colonel. I don’t _care_ what you say… All of you are. And I brought the tranq guns. So don’t even try. They’re loaded for Heero.”  
“Surrender, now.” Quatre sighed, “She’s a really good shot. The sedative isn’t pleasant to wake up from either.”  
“Experience?” Sam queried.  
“Just the once.” Quatre nodded, “Unfortunately not from those who had my best interests at heart. I would advise submitting. Doctor Po has a habit of including unnecessary tests and inoculations if her orders are not followed.”  
“She’s a copy of the Napoleonic Power Monger isn’t she?” Jack stared.  
“I have no idea what that means,” Une smiled slightly, “But I’m going to agree. Everyone up. Follow the medics. Trowa, carry Duo.”  
“Duo gets treated first.” Jack repeated.  
“Colonel,” Sally looked at him, “Trust me, Duo will be treated first, and probably last, as he will come around and try to make a break for it. At which point I will have to talk him back into bed, or rely on one of the others to wrestle him.”  
“Not tranq?” Jack frowned.  
“I _never_ tranq Duo.” Sally stated firmly, “And I would appreciate it if you did not inquire further. I have my Doctor’s Oaths to uphold.”

Jack didn’t bother to argue. He simply poked Daniel awake.

“Once the medics have cleared you,” Une continued, “I want a detailed report sent to me, from each of you boys… Heero, that means more than five sentences. Colonel, your General has requested you contact him as soon as possible. If I could obtain a copy of your report as well, it would be appreciated. The prisoners we’ve rounded up need to be sent somewhere, if you could tell me where, I’d appreciate it. We don’t yet have the facilities to contain them for a long period of time.”  
“Understood, Commander.” Jack nodded, before surrendering to the medic’s care, “I’ll contact General Hammond and see if we can arrange for them to be sent to the Free Jaffa.”

123456789

The final day of negotiating went by quickly, though without the Pilots being present. Really before SG1 knew it, the Ball had arrived.

In a slightly desperate attempt to get away from all the people wanting to question him about Earth, Jack sought out a friendly face. Eventually he found one.

“Commander Une,” Jack nodded pleasantly, “Where are the boys?”  
“Duo’s playing the ‘We-were-injured-in-combat’ card to the hilt.” Une smiled, “They’ve refused to come.”  
“Refused?” Jack blinked, “They have that option?”  
“Usually, no.” Une shrugged, “But considering that Heero and Duo both used Zero, it’s probably better that they aren’t here. They’ll be a little… Twitchy for a while. And we could do without Duo’s behaviour.”  
“He mucks about?”  
“He positively _hates_ these things. They all do actually. Duo’s just the only one who _noticeably_ acts out to make a point. Time before last he managed to get oil and grease on his dress uniform before he turned up. Supposedly by _accident!”_  
“You don’t believe him?”  
“One set of streaks spelt ‘Save Me’. Another ‘I’m Bored’. All in codes of course. But…”  
“Nice to see he has a sense of humour.”  
“If it wasn’t for the fact that the Vice-Foreign Minister insists on inviting Heero and him turning up, I wouldn’t even bother making them attend. It’d save me a headache. Heero is tense the whole time, and usually ends up hiding in a corner, until Relena drags him out to dance.

“Duo, I can never predict, like I said. But he always thinks of _something._

“Trowa doesn’t talk. I mean, not at _all._ Not even to people he knows… He just finds a wall to lean against. Last time at least six people thought he was an incredibly life-like statue.

“Quatre at least socialises. But he usually comes up with some _wonderful_ compliments, which are actually highly veiled insults.

“Wufei treats everyone as if they are fools or idiots. Usually walking away soon after the conversation starts. But if he’s near Sally, he’s half-way bearable.

“And all five of them leave the second it is polite to. All together… _Without_ conferring. It’s slightly scary.”  
“So better that they aren’t here.” Jack agreed.  
“Definitely. Heero would probably kill Relena if she tried to drag him onto the dance floor today.”  
“I had noticed he was tense around her. Doesn’t he like her?”  
“It’s actually for her protection,” Une sighed, “Heero’s been a soldier for so long the instincts are ingrained. If someone sneaks up behind him, his first thought is that he’s being attacked… He lashes out to disable and sometimes kill, depending on the circumstances. Relena doesn’t understand this, and keeps on sneaking up on him. The tenseness is him trying to be fully in control and keep the instincts at bay. That’s why he relaxes slightly when he can see her…”  
“Because if he can see her, she’s not sneaking up on him,” Jack realized, “Sounds like Post-Traumatic Stress to me.”  
“Exactly.” Une nodded, “We’ve explained it to her, but she doesn’t seem to take it in.”  
“But… Then why can Duo sneak up on him?” Jack frowned.  
“He doesn’t.” Une replied, “Heero subconsciously knows that Duo is there. But also knows that it’s Duo… And therefore he is safe. I would say that the others could as well. But they’ve never tried.”

The two sipped their drinks for a moment, watching the people move about.

“By the way,” Jack nodded over at Daniel, “Who’s the guy talking to Daniel?”  
“Describe him to me?” Une asked, “I don’t have a clear line of sight.”  
“He’s wearing a brightly coloured shirt… With palm trees on it.” Jack supplied, describing the man who was either monopolising or being monopolised by Daniel.  
“Howard.” Une sighed, “I _asked_ him to wear a _suit!”_ She almost sobbed on the last word.  
“He’s wearing formal trousers,” Jack offered, “And a jacket… It’s just the shirt. I think he’s trying to poach Daniel. It’s bad enough that Daniel likes recruiting off-world… I don’t want him _recruited_ off-world.”  
“Don’t worry.” Une smiled wanly, “Howard won’t steal. Not without telling you first. He’s relatively honest.”  
“Relatively?” Jack pressed gently.  
“He’s as honest as Duo.” Une shrugged, “Just doesn’t always tell the _full_ truth.”  
“He was calling Daniel ‘boy’.” Jack was more worried than he was letting on.  
“And he calls me ‘girl’.” Une retorted, “We’re all boys and girls to him… Except Duo.”  
“What’s Duo?” Jack frowned.  
“His kid.” Une grinned.  
“He’s _that_ Howard?” Jack glanced at the man again, _“He’s_ the Leader of the Sweepers?”  
“Yes.” Une nodded, “He’s a bit odd. But the Sweepers are odd as well.”  
“Daniel’s fascinated by the Sweepers.” Jack said, “I’m slightly worried he wants to study them.”  
“Then I wish him good luck,” Une laughed, “He’ll have to get pass Howard.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“I mean, that ever since the Sweepers was formed, there has not been a truly unbiased anthropological study of them. They refuse to cooperate with anyone outside of their culture who wishes to study them.” Une explained, “Only Sweepers have ever written accounts of them… And we _know_ they didn’t give all the details. And I suspect that some were invented.”  
“Why haven’t they let anyone in?” Jack asked.  
“The researchers were too arrogant.” Une shrugged, “At least that’s what Duo says. Says they were dismissive of the culture. Not willing to listen to reasons. Not willing to try to understand _why._ Not willing to _try_ to learn the language, so that an interpreter wasn’t always needed.”  
“So you’re basically telling me I might loose Daniel for about three months?” Jack retorted, “He _wants_ to learn.”  
“Then you might have a problem,” Une agreed, “Take it up with Daniel. If you ask Howard to stop him he’ll never do it. He’s like that.”  
“I will.” Jack nodded.  
“But he’s always welcome to,” Une added, “Just… Send me a copy of the research? The only things I know about Sweepers are what Duo tells me. And that’s difficult. The boys don’t give any information out lightly… _Especially_ when they don’t want to say anything.”

The two sipped their drinks for a moment.

“So in twenty eight days, your side comes to visit us.” Jack stated, “Who’s coming?”  
“Miss Darlain,” Une replied, “Sally and the Boys.”  
“Let’s hope this time that the drama is kept to a minimum.”  
“Seeing how things have gone so far,” Une grinned, “I wouldn’t count on it.”


End file.
